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2012
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State BJJ Championship
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& Sub Grappling)
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(Kickboxing)
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3/29/12 - 4/1/12
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Jiu-Jitsu Championship
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(Blaisdell Arena)
1/15/12
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1/7/12
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|
|
February
2011 News Part 1
|
Casca Grossa Jiu-Jitsu
is now the O2 Martial Arts Academy with 7 days a week training!
We are also offering Kali-Escrima (stick fighting) on Monday
nights with Ian Beltran & Erwin Legaspi.
Kickboxing Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday with Kaleo Kwan, PJ
Dean, & Chris Slavens!
Kids Classes are also
available!
Click
here for info!
Take classes from
the Onzuka brothers in a family-like environment! |
Onzuka.com
Hawaii Underground Forum is Online!
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O2 Martial Arts features Relson Gracie Jiu-Jitsu taught by Relson
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We also offer Boxing and Kickboxing classes with a staff that
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provide incredibly detailed instruction of the sweet science.
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Just a beginner with no background? Perfect! We teach you from
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Scrappler's
Fest is Set for May 19!
Kauai's premier BJJ and Submission Grappling tournament has secured
a date for its next event.
Scrappler's Fest
Kauai
Saturday, May 19, 2012
Start preparing your team and start saving up for the trip to
compete against Kauai's best grapplers from Kauai Technical Institute
(KTI), Powerhouse, Longman, New Breed, Kamole, amongst others.
|
UFC
143 Medical Suspensions Equal a Long List
The UFC 143: Diaz vs. Condit medical suspensions were released
on Monday. UFC 143 took place Saturday night, Feb. 4, at the
Mandalay Bay Events Center in Las Vegas. Carlos Condit captured
the interim UFC welterweight championship with a five-round unanimous
decision victory over Nick Diaz in the main event.
Condit
received a brief suspension, but co-main eventer Fabricio Werdum
could face a much lengthier stint on the sidelines, pending clearance
by a doctor.
The
NSAC on Monday released the full suspension list to MMAWeekly.com.
UFC
143: Diaz vs. Condit Medical Suspensions:
Carlos
Condit – Suspended until March 6 with no contact prior to
Feb. 26 due to right cheek laceration.
Fabricio
Werdum – Must have right quadriceps contusion cleared by
a doctor or he is suspended until Aug. 3. He faces a minimum
suspension until March 6 with no contact prior to Feb. 26.
Roy
Nelson – Suspended until April 5 with no contact prior to
that date due to a forehead laceration.
Mike
Pierce – Suspended until March 6 with no contact prior to
Feb. 26 due to a right eye laceration.
Scott
Jorgensen – Suspended until March 6 with no contact prior
to Feb. 26.
Clifford
Starks – Must have the fourth digit of his left hand x-rayed
and cleared by an orthopedic doctor or he is suspended until
Aug. 3.
Ed
Herman – Must have both hands x-rayed and cleared by an
orthopedic doctor or he is suspended until Aug. 3. He faces a
minimum suspension until March 6 with no contact prior to Feb.
26.
Max
Hollaway – Suspended until Feb. 26 with no contact prior
to Feb. 19 due to right eye contusion.
Alex
Caceres – Suspended until March 6 with no contact prior
to Feb. 26.
Edwin
Figueroa – Must have his a right groin injury cleared by
a doctor or he is supended until Aug. 3. He faces a minimum suspension
until March 6 with no contact prior to Feb. 26.
Chris
Cope – Suspended until April 5 with no contact prior to
March 21.
Matt
Riddle – Must have broken right index finger cleared by
an orthopedic doctor or he is suspended until Aug. 3. He faces
a minimum suspension until March 21 with no contact prior to
March 6.
Henry
Martinez – Must have right foot x-rayed and cleared by an
orthopedic doctor or he is suspended until Aug. 3. He faces a
minimum suspension until March 21 with no contact prior to March
6 due to a left nasal laceration.
Michael
Kuiper – Must have left foot x-rayed and cleared by an orthopedic
doctor or he is suspended until Aug. 3. He faces a minimum suspension
until March 6 with no contact prior to Feb. 26.
Dan
Stittgen – Suspended until March 21 with no contact prior
to March 6.
Source: MMA Weekly
|
Condit
on UFC 143 Victory: Diaz Was Talking, I Was Landing Punches
By Mike
Whitman
Carlos Condit earned the biggest win of his career on Saturday
night, outpointing former Strikeforce titlist Nick Diaz to capture
the UFC interim welterweight championship at UFC 143.
Condit
used a sharp, varied counter attack, deftly maneuvering out of
harm’s way continually during the five-round main event
at the Mandalay Bay Events Center in Las Vegas.
Though
Diaz attempted to bait Condit into exchanges, “The Natural
Born Killer” did not oblige the Californian, instead sticking
to his game plan. Diaz continually moved forward and taunted
the former WEC king, but Condit paid him no mind and continued
to score with counter attacks.
“He
was talking. I was landing punches,” Condit told UFC.com
after his title-winning performance. “I think I was winning.
No matter how much he talked, I was hitting hard and I was hitting
him solid. That’s what I came here to do. I didn’t
come here to talk.”
Condit’s
game plan appeared to contain two main strategies. First, use
movement to avoid standing in front of Diaz, who is known for
his deadly combination punching and work rate. Second, execute
isolated strikes at opportune times to prevent Diaz from finding
his range and rhythm.
In
that vein, Condit continually found a home for his leg kick.
While it was unclear how much actual damage was being done to
Diaz’s lead appendage, the maneuver served its purpose by
both disrupting Diaz’s typically suffocating offense and
scoring points with the judges.
“From
the very beginning, I broke that leg down, man,” said Condit.
“I chopped his leg, so even if he had the cardio, he wouldn’t
have the wheels.”
Up
next for the Jackson’s MMA representative is a showdown
with part-time teammate and previously undisputed UFC welterweight
champion Georges St. Pierre, who was sidelined in December with
a torn ACL.
“[This
win] is huge. This is just another step toward my ultimate goal
of being among the best mixed martial artists in the world,”
said Condit. “I’ve got a lot of work to do and a lot
more improvements to make. Georges is a true champion, and he’s
the best in the world.”
In
victory, Condit becomes the first man besides St. Pierre to wear
UFC welterweight gold in the last four years. Following his emotional
win, the Arizonan thanked the followers who helped him reach
the pinnacle of his career to-date.
“I
have the best fans in the world. I get so much support and respect
from people all over the world who I don’t even know,”
said Condit. “I want you guys to know how much it f---ing
means to me. This isn’t always fun, and it’s not always
easy, but hearing from fans and getting support from you guys
gives me motivation.”
Source: Sherdog
|
From
Nightmare to Dream - The Quotable Diego Sanchez
by Thomas
Gerbasi
"You
never know when it’s gonna be your last fight, and I fight
every fight like that. When I’m in there, I will fight
with every ounce of blood I have in me, with all my spirit, heart,
and mind." - Diego Sanchez
UFC welterweight Diego Sanchez
If there’s one thing practically every mixed martial arts
writer can say, it’s that there’s no such thing as
a bad Diego Sanchez interview. When The Ultimate Fighter season
one winner and former world title challenger gets rolling (and
it usually doesn’t take much), it’s best to just set
up your recorder and let him roll, because you’re about
to get enough quotes to last you for a week’s full of stories.
With his UFC on FUEL main event against Jake Ellenberger approaching
a week from today, here’s a sampling of memorable musings
from “The Dream.”
THE
GOALS HAVE NEVER CHANGED (2005)
“I’m
not here to be the fifth best or the second best in the world.
I’m here to be the best in the world, hands down. If I
set my expectations lower than that, I wouldn’t be a champion.
NEVER PERSONAL (2005)
“It’s
business when I go in there. I look at this as my career, as
my life. I’ve got my mom and my dad – my dad who works
construction – and I want to have money for them to retire.
I want to end all the hard work and I want to be there for stuff
like that. I think about the reasons why I’m fighting and
stuff like that. So a little thing like that - trying to distract
me by getting me mad – that’s not gonna throw me off
my goal.”
THE ART OF WAR (2005)
“This is my art. It’s my body, my mind, and my spirit,
and when I go into the ring I look at it as war. I look at it
like he’s trying to take my job from me, trying to take
the money I’ve put on the table for food, and basically
trying to take my life away. So when I go in there, I go in
there with the mentality that once they lock that door, I’m
going in there and fighting for my life. And when you’re
fighting for your life, what else do you got?”
ORIGINS (2005)
“I wasn’t looking for the fight, it found me, and that’s
basically the way fighting found me. I hadn’t been in a
lot of fights in my life and I got tested in the street fight
one time, fighting a big, strong, tough athlete who had strong
endurance – he was a football player and he outweighed me
by like 70 pounds, and I was able to overcome those odds. And
I had wrestled, but I didn’t know jiu-jitsu – it was
all heart. And when I overcame that guy, I started to think that
maybe I am meant for this.”
DESTINY (2005)
“I always loved the UFC, I always wanted to be a UFC fighter,
but did I think it was gonna happen? I didn’t know. But
after that happened, I started to realize. Then it was just one
fight after another, building momentum, my confidence grew and
I continued to trust in God and believe that maybe this was why
I was put on the TV show and why everything is just the way it
is. I believe its destiny.”
ABU DHABI (2005)
“I
took that tournament on two weeks notice, I wasn’t training,
and I cut 23 pounds in a week. I was so weak from my match with
Jake Shields, a match that I lost, and then I was able to stick
with Marcelo (Garcia) a day later in the absolute division and
I was stronger because I had a day to recover. We were 0-0 with
30 seconds left and I was getting desperate and I went for a
sloppy move with the best grappler in the world and he caught
me with the counter move and I was submitted for the first time
in competition. But what I had done to my body, I killed myself.
I never wanted to quit so bad in my life. I was mentally weak
in that sauna, and I felt myself wanting to quit. It taught me
a big lesson. After that happened, you will never see Diego Sanchez
cutting weight like that again for a mixed martial arts fight.
Because if I had been in a mixed martial arts fight, I probably
would have been beaten, because my insides were gone. I felt
my organs hurting and I never want to feel that in a fight. I
did a lot of things wrong to get things right.”
CONFIDENCE MAN (2005)
“If
I’m not confident, then I’m gonna start to have doubts
and start to think about the bad things that can happen to me
in the cage – like getting knocked out or submitted or cut.
If I think about those things, it’s gonna be on my mind
and it’s gonna bring me down. I stay positive, I stay focused,
and I think about what I have to do to beat my opponent.”
FIGHT LIKE IT’S YOUR LAST (2005)
“You never know when it’s gonna be your last fight,
and I fight every fight like that. When I’m in there, I
will fight with every ounce of blood I have in me, with all my
spirit, heart, and mind. And I’ve heard fighters say this,
but truly, he’s gonna have to kill me to beat me because
I’m not gonna quit, I’m not gonna break.”
THE
“0” (2006)
“In
my mind all the TUF guys are gonna lose and I’m gonna be
the only undefeated fighter and I’m still gonna be the only
guy that went through the show, finished everybody, and I’m
gonna be ‘The Ultimate Fighter.’ They’re gonna
say, ‘that guy Diego Sanchez, he was ‘The Ultimate
Fighter’ through all the seasons.’ They’re gonna
say that he was the only guy that dominated it, came out after
it, stayed undefeated, won the belt, and got out of his contract
undefeated.”
JUST
BELIEVE (2006)
“Really
all it is is a mental state, a way of thinking, and it’s
a way of believing in yourself. I believe in myself, and if I
didn’t, I wouldn’t be doing this. Anyone can do anything
if they believe and I’m trying to get that message across.
Everybody wants to hate and everybody wants to doubt, and there
are people out there who want to see me lose just to see me lose,
and they think I’m cocky, but I believe in myself. If you
want to hate me because of that, go ahead. If I didn’t believe,
there would be times in fights where I’d be like, ‘okay,
I can quit, I’m tired,’ but I feel I’ve got a
lot a heart, and though people say every dog has its day and
everybody has his time to lose, maybe that’s true but I’m
trying my best to take fights smart and fight smart and do my
best to keep my record undefeated. When I started this game a
long time ago, I told myself I’m gonna be smart about it.
I’m not just gonna go in there and be (former UFC contender)
Robbie Lawler and say “ARRRGGGGGH, I’m gonna brawl
and try to knock your head off and try to be the most exciting
fighter in MMA history.” That’s not my gameplan. My
gameplan is to be smart, and that means there may be some boring
fights, but other fights are gonna be damn exciting, and I’m
always gonna push the pace and do what I can to win.”
THE
FIRST LOSS (2007)
“It
was a slow process, but ever since I won the Ultimate Fighter
TV show in 2005, even though I had good fights and great wins,
slowly, the fame was changing me. And I had to look back, analyze
everything and ask myself who I was. I wasn’t that same
tiger when I went into the ring with Josh Koscheck that I was
whenever I started getting into this game. I was going through
the motions and I wasn’t focused. I wasn’t being myself.
I just need to be me and not think about anything else. I have
to be that same hungry, King of The Cage fighter that was at
the bottom of the barrel, that comes from Albuquerque, New Mexico,
raised in poverty. That’s the Diego Sanchez that I need
to be.”
A
CHANGE OF SCENERY (2007)
“I’ve
been doing the same thing for a long time. I’ve been raised
in Albuquerque my whole life and I was ready for a change. I
had been wanting to go out to California. Every time I’d
come out to San Diego, for a month or two months to do conditioning
camps with Rob Garcia, I’d always be like ‘man, it’s
so nice out here. I wish I could run the beach everyday or work
on my boxing more.’ But there wasn’t a ground guy out
there for me, and of course there was my loyalty to Greg Jackson.
I had the Jackson Gaidojutsu team, New Mexico was my home state,
and I knew everybody over there, but things happen and it was
the right time. Saulo Ribeiro and Xande Ribeiro moved to San
Diego and opened up a school, and those guys are, in my opinion,
the two best ground guys in the world. I’ve rolled with
Marcelo Garcia and some of the best guys, and there ain’t
nothing like a Saulo Ribeiro or an Alexander Ribeiro.”
THE
MOVE TO LIGHTWEIGHT (2009)
“Fighting
at 170 has always been good for me, but I walk around at a little
chubby 180, and by the time I’m in great shape and ripped,
I’m 172, 173, and not really cutting weight. So where this
sport is going, everybody’s cutting weight. When I fought
Jon Fitch, he had at least 20 pounds on me, and there was a very
big size advantage. So after getting injured before the Thiago
Alves fight, I just had to make a decision. I thought about all
the options at 170, and what would be the best choice for me,
and then I thought that if I dropped to ’55, I’m going
to be bigger, stronger, able to focus more on technique and not
on how to get bigger. Strength training was a big part of my
training at 170, trying to get bigger. Now at 155, I get to work
more on maintaining strength, which is a totally different task.
I made the decision, and if there’s ever a time for me to
do it, it’s gonna be now, while I’m still in my 20’s.
When I get into my 30’s it’s gonna be a lot harder.”
THE
FIRST TITLE SHOT (2009)
“I’m
one to always put high expectations on every fight, so there’s
no added pressure on me. For me, I feel like there’s always
the same amount of pressure on every fight because every fight’s
just as important. But this fight is something special to me.
For the first time in my career, I’m fighting for a world
title, and more important, against my opponent, BJ Penn. The
guy’s probably been the most dominant lightweight in UFC
history and I’ve been waiting for this fight with BJ Penn
for a long time because all along I knew that fighting BJ Penn
was going to bring out the best Diego Sanchez, and Diego Sanchez
fighting BJ Penn is going to bring out the best in him. So that
night we’re both gonna be pushed to see who has more heart
and who is the better fighter – and that’s what it’s
gonna come down to because I feel we match up well in all areas
of the game.”
GOING
HOME TO ABQ (2010)
“I
loved San Diego and I still do. I was living really nice out
there, real comfortable, but I just felt in my heart that I had
to get back to my roots. I asked myself, ‘what got me there,
what got me in the UFC, what got me to The Ultimate Fighter,
what got me through The Ultimate Fighter, and what got me to
the top of the UFC 170-pound division?’ It was just that
hard working energy of Albuquerque and having my mom and my dad,
and having that love around me all the time.”
GETTING
HUNGRY AGAIN (2010)
“I
felt very humbled in the BJ Penn fight and in the two months
after the fight when I couldn’t train and I was just out
and about and doing my thing because I had this big cut on my
head, that’s when I felt very humbled. It’s not about
the Hollywood lifestyle. It’s really nice to get all these
fans and all these people who love you because of what you do
in the Octagon, but I had to look back to before all of that
when I was just another kid wanting to climb to the top. I don’t
need to have the most expensive this or the nicest that. I don’t
have to drink bottled water; I can drink some of this Albuquerque
tap water and get just as rough and rugged and mean. And I honestly
feel like my skills have improved.”
ON
ALBUQUERQUE (2010)
“Before
Albuquerque was known to the world, I grew up watching Johnny
Tapia and Danny Romero boxing and I was a little fighter. I got
into street fights, and it’s just a mentality. I call it
the ‘Burque. It’s short for Albuquerque but it’s
just a mentality, that ‘let’s get it’ mentality,
and that separates me from a lot of the other fighters. I could
never go into a fight and be thinking ‘okay, I’m gonna
circle right, circle left, throw three leg kicks, see how he
counters, and then I’m gonna set my takedown up.’ The
mentality that I fight with is that I look at two pitbulls and
before the fight, those two dogs are just going for the kill
and they’re instinctively countering each other and moving
synergistically and looking for the opportunity to strike and
take their opponent out. And that’s the way I go into a
fight. I think that’s probably the reason why I have such
a big fanbase. They love that I go in there and put my heart
on the line and I risk it. I’m gonna always risk it.”
BACK
TO JACKSON’S (2010)
“Greg
(Jackson) had told me that the door was always open and they
always treated me like a family member, with open arms. And I
was just being stubborn. I wanted to try to do a camp myself,
but I was still in the process of moving. I went to do my camp
in New Mexico (for the John Hathaway fight) because I felt I
needed to do that, but I still had my place in San Diego, still
had ties to my previous team, and I wanted to do it right when
I made my return to Jackson’s. Right now, everything’s
perfect.”
GROWING
PAINS (2010)
“I
want to be the best and I want to continue to get better. I’ve
made some mistakes in my career, I’ve made some bad decisions,
and there’s been multiple times where I was growing up and
I got sucked into the limelight. But right now, I realized in
my last fight that when it’s all said and done, it just
comes down to earning the W. So my mentality now is, I’m
just gonna earn it. I’m gonna earn the victory, work hard,
and when I go in that gym, I want to be the hardest worker in
there. That’s my whole new mindset on mixed martial arts
and my career – be the hardest worker and earn the victory.”
ON
FIGHTING (2010)
“It’s
my blessing. I feel like I was blessed with the fighting ability
and that’s my calling. It’s what I love to do and it’s
my passion. You’ve heard me say this way back in the beginning
of my career that I feel it’s my destiny to fight and to
be champion, so I’m not letting go of that. I’m gonna
continue to work hard, and I really feel like I’ve got my
head on my shoulders finally after so many trials and tribulations.
I’ve got my feet digging down in the ground, I’m standing
firm, I’m working hard, and I’m gonna show everybody
how hard work can pay off, because talent can only take you so
far.”
RISING
TO THE TOP AGAIN (2011)
“I’m
climbing up the ladder and there’s only one way to do it
and that’s to earn it. That’s what I realized after
my losses to BJ (Penn) and John (Hathaway). I was going through
the motions. I always trained hard and I’m not making excuses,
but there’s no comparison between my training in San Diego
and what it is here. I was in San Diego basically doing jiu-jitsu
in the gi and then going to striking. I was putting MMA together
and trying to create this style that wasn’t my own style.
And when I came back to New Mexico, Greg said, ‘that’s
not you. We gotta change a lot of things.’ He analyzed my
fights when I wasn’t with him and he broke me down, and
we reinvented me to what my style should be, and I came full
circle as a martial artist and found my style. It took some time,
but we worked on it.”
EGO
(2011)
“I’ve
always been able to look at myself and say ‘remember where
you came from.’ It’s not hard for me to put my ego
aside because that’s the way you get better. You can’t
care what other people think because some days you’re gonna
go into the gym and have hard days.”
COMING
HOME, PART II (2011)
“I
look back now and it was a great experience being away, but I
never would have appreciated what I have if I didn’t leave
it. Me and Greg (Jackson) started out together. I was one of
his first fighters, and we were on the grappling circuit and
had barely started doing MMA fights. I didn’t know what
I had. I didn’t even know what I had in my hometown of Albuquerque.
Now there’s such a deep appreciation each and every day
that I walk into that gym just knowing that I really have something
special here.”
THE
PAYOFF (2011)
“I
like getting bonuses and going out in the streets and having
people just shining at me like bright lights, saying ‘oh,
I can’t believe your last performance, it was so amazing,
and the fight was so good.’ I want that kind of reaction.”
Source:
UFC
|
The
playbook: Looking at upcoming attractions in Japan & UFC
By Zach
Arnold
Just
wanted to give everyone thanks for the support I received for
yesterday’s article about the state of affairs in Japan.
It’s an article that left a bitter taste in my mouth because
of the way things are going in the country, but what can you
do? As an update to what I touched upon yesterday, this happened:
George
Sotiropoulos and Leonard Garcia have been scratched from the
UFC Japan 2012 card. Eiji Mitsuoka is replacing Sotiropoulos
against Gomi and a replacement is being booked now for Garcia.
Visa issues no doubt make things tricky in Japan.
New Japan, the one tepidly solid wrestling organization in Japan,
was transferred from parent owner Yukes (video game maker) to
Bushiroad (card game maker). Bushiroad was the main sponsor of
the G-1 tournament last year and it’s boss is a big wrestling
supporter. There had been rumblings in the last month or so that
things weren’t too hot on the balance sheet for New Japan
in the post-tsunami time frame. Yuji Nagata and other wrestlers
said that they were not told about the sale until it was finalized
and that it came as a surprise to the roster. That’s corporate
wrestling ownership for you.
On a side note, it is interesting that of the many items that
I discussed yesterday about Japan, the NOAH ‘black money’
scandal is the one that, by far, I got the most reaction to both
from MMA & wrestling fans. If you’re wondering what
kind of image effect it could have on NOAH, take a look at what’s
happened to the New York Mets image-wise in the post-Bernie Madoff
time frame. Challenges ahead.
Here’s
Forrest Griffin talking about fighting Tito Ortiz soon and how
both men view each other as an easy fight. I’ve noticed
for match previews on HDNet that Bas Rutten is giving his own
individual rankings for particulars in fighter skill sets. It’s
based on a 1-to-5 scale. I notice Bas is generous in giving 4’s
to both Forrest and Tito in many categories, with Tito getting
a 5 for wrestling and Forrest getting a 5 for strength but 4’s
across the board. I don’t think it’s that close of
a fight at this point but, hey, that Ryan Bader win still seems
fresh in people’s minds.
Here’s
the inimitable Greg Jackson being interviewed about the upcoming
Nick Diaz/Carlos Condit and Rashad Evans/Jon Jones fights. Take
note of Bas’ rankings of Nick and Carlos — he has Carlos
as a 4 in striking, wrestling, grappling, speed, strength, and
endurance. He has Nick as a 4 in all categories except grappling
& endurance, where he has a 5 for each. I think BJ Penn might
dispute that 4 rating for striking.
As
for how well Nick Diaz/Carlos Condit is doing at the gate in
Las Vegas for an advance… our friend Brian says that there
are plenty of seats available. The Las Vegas market is still
really soft right now and they had a show on December 30th with
Alistair Overeem & Brock Lesnar, which is quite the gap in
star power from the upcoming show.
As
for Bones/Rashad, the initial odds have Jon Jones as a 6-to-1
favorite (85%) with Rashad as a 4-to-1 underdog (+400). For most
fans, they don’t see a path to victory for Rashad in this
fight so I suspect it will be 24/7 over-crank on the soap opera
‘former teammates’ aspect to promote this fight and
get a solid PPV buy rate figure.
On
an additional side note, if you’re wondering where Fox got
those UFC Middleweight & Light Heavyweight Top 10 rankings
lists this past weekend to air on TV, Ariel Helwani says they’re
not his rankings. People took notice of this because of Dana’s
stance of UFC not producing Top 10 rankings for various reasons
(including my opinion that he doesn’t want to give agents/fighters
any sort of peek into his mindset as far as who he thinks is
more valuable).
If
you’re looking for better odds on upcoming fights, here’s
the latest edition of MMA Oddsbreakers. A sampling of some upcoming
odds that might pique your curiosity:
UFC
on FX 2 (3/3 Sydney, Australia) — UFC Flyweight Tournament
Semi-Finals, Ian McCall +215 vs. Demetrious Johnson -285 and
Yasuhiro Urushitani +400 vs. Joe Benavidez -600
UFC on Fuel 2 (4/14 Stockholm, Sweden) — Antonio Rogerio
Nogueira +205 vs. Alexander Gustafsson -265
Bellator 60 (3/9 Hammond, Indiana) — Featherweight Title,
Joe Warren +195 vs. Pat Curran -255
The two odds that stick out to me are Little Nog at +205 and
Curran at -255 as really solid potential plays.
**
Odds are published here for entertainment & discussion purposes
only.
Source: Fight Opinion
|
Jones
vs. Evans Official for UFC 145 in Atlanta
by Ken
Pishna
When
Rashad Evans defeated Phil Davis at UFC on Fox 2 last week, he
earned the right, once again, to challenge former teammate Jon
Jones for the UFC light heavyweight championship.
The
UFC had already announced that Jones’ next defense would
come at UFC 145 in Atlanta on April 21.
The
only thing standing in the way of Jones vs. Evans was Evans needing
to gain medical clearance following his UFC on Fox 2 bout.
That
has apparently happened as the UFC on Monday finally confirmed
that Jones vs. Evans will headline UFC 145.
The
two have been feuding since the time they were still teammates,
early last year, when Jones stepped in to face then-UFC light
heavyweight champion Mauricio “Shogun” Rua at UFC 128
in New Jersey. Evans was initially slated to challenge Shogun,
but had to drop out due to injury.
Jones
stepping in and capturing the title lead to some hard feelings
between the two. The night that Jones won the belt, Evans announced
his exodus from their camp with coaches Greg Jackson and Mike
Winkeljohn in Albuquerque, N.M.
Evans
has since formed the Blackzilians team in Florida and has been
training their for his most recent fights.
The
UFC has been trying to match Jones and Evans ever since their
highly publicized fallout. After several false starts, barring
incident, they will finally settle their differences in the Octagon.
Source: MMA Weekly
|
Abu
Dhabi: who can keep Xande, Tarsis, Bochecha, Lucas & Clark
Gracie’s from flying free?
The
main WPJJ event in Abu Dhabi will only happen in April; still
the climate is already heating up for the big Jiu-Jitsu stars
already this February and March, when three more tryouts for
the big event will take place to determine who gets free airfare,
food and board for their trip to the United Arab Emirates.
The
first of the three will be in Europe—Finland, to be specific—on
February 18.
MAJOR
JIU-JITSU STARS IN ACTION IN BRAZIL AND CALIFORNIA
On
March 3 and 4—with Rodrigo Minotauro in attendance, as you
read here on GRACIEMAG.com yesterday—the picturesque town
of Gramado will host the aces of the gentle-art world for the
final qualifying event in Brazil.
Among
the favorites: Tarsis Humphreys, winner of the absolute at the
maiden WPJJ, back in 2009; Fernando Margarida, Marcus Bochecha,
Celso Venícius, Bruno Frazatto, Guto Campos, Mário
Reis, and a bunch of other hard-nosed competitors.
In
the female division, according to the promoters, current world
champion Gabi Garcia will be there—the Alliance ace always
makes a point of competing in her birth state.
To
compete alongside the big names in Gramado, click here.
Another
shortcut to Abu Dhabi is the San Diego trials, on March 10 and
11, for which sign-ups only go till Sunday. Among the stars expected
by the organizers, the likes of Xande Ribeiro, Lucas Leite and
Clark Gracie.
Source:
Gracie Magazine
|
Text
of FTC letter suspending/closing investigation into Zuffa #ufc
By Zach
Arnold
The
letter:
UNITED
STATES OF AMERICA
FEDERAL TRADE COMMISSION
WASHINGTON, D.C. 20580
Office of the Secretary
January
25, 2012
Stephen
Axinn, Esq.
Axinn Veltrop, and Harkrider LLP
1330 Connecticut Ave., NW
Washington, DC 20036
Re:
Acquisition of Explosion Entertainment, LLC (Strikeforce) by
Zuffa, LLC (UFC)
FTC File No. 111 0136
Dear
Mr. Axinn:
The
Federal Trade Commission’s Bureau of Competition has been
conducting a nonpublic investigation to determine whether Zuffa,
LLC’s acquisition of Explosion Entertainment, LLC may violate
Section 7 of the Clayton Act or Section 5 of the Federal Trade
Commission Act.
Upon
further review of this matter, it now appears that no further
action is warranted by the Commission at this time. Accordingly,
the investigation has been closed. This action is not to be construed
as a determination that a violation may not have occurred, just
as the pendency of an investigation should not be construed as
a determination that a violation has occurred. The Commission
reserves the right to take such further action as the public
interest may require.
By
direction of the Commission.
Donald
S. Clark
Secretary
Source: Fight Opinion
|
Renan
Barao wants a title shot, reveals he was sick 15 days before
UFC 143
By Evelyn
Rodrigues, directly from Las Vegas
Renan
Barão wrote another victory to his professional record
as he overcame the tough Scott Jorgensen at UFC 143, in Las Vegas,
and talked to TATAME TV right after leaving the cage, and revealed
he almost gave it up on fighting because he was feeling ill 15
days before the event. “I thought about giving it up, but
I’ve talked to Andre I had an appointment in the UFC and
that I would fight”, tells Renan, who also commented on
his game plan coming into UFC’s octagon, answering Dominick
Cruz’s statements to TATAME Magazine. Check it:
How
was the feeling of winning one of the most important bouts of
your entire career?
It
was really great, I trained a lot. I was kinda sick like 15 days
before the fight. My throat was aching, I was kinda feverish,
I thought about giving it up, but I’ve talked to Andre (Pederneiras)
I had an appointment in the UFC and that I would fight. Andre
trusted me and thank God it worked out.
That
was the game plan set for this fight?
Yeah.
In the beginning I wasn’t doing it correctly, but then I
started following the game plan set by Pederneiras, that included
moving to my right and using my legs to counterattack. God blessed
me and everything worked out just fine once again.
Dominick
Cruz said, on a previous interview, that you might meet sooner
of later. How do you feel about that?
I’m
really happy he said that. It’ll be awesome fighting him,
and not because I want to fight him, but because he is the champion
and I wanna fight the champion, have a chance at the title and
that’s it. I’m really happy. It’s great happiness.
God’ been pretty kind to me, and not only today, but in
my entire life and it’s all good.
Send
a message for your fans in Brazil who cheered for you.
Thank
you everybody who helped me. I’d like to send my love to
my team Nova Uniao in Natal, all the guys there, we’re together
on this. Also my fans too… I’ll train more and I’ll
try to be better next time and put a great show for you guys
to watch. Thank you.
Source:
Tatame
|
MMA
Diet: Yogurt
by Cameron
Conaway
Many athletes start their day off with a cup of yogurt. While
this can be good, it’s often not as good as many think.
Not all yogurts are created equal. Let’s explore why.
For
starters, food demand in developed countries is based more on
taste than necessity. Whereas people in rural or less developed
places in the world may receive only a few options and even then
only of the dietary staples – white rice, for example –
developed countries have a wide variety of choices due to economic
and transportation factors and are therefore able to stock foods
based purely on taste demand. When we consider that the average
buyer will likely choose the sweeter, more colorful, more advertised
and easier items than athletes seeking the best possible foods
to fuel themselves for their careers, it’s easy to see why
even the selection of yogurt can be a tricky one.
Walk down the dairy aisle of most supermarket chains and you’ll
find countless varieties of individual servings of yogurt –
bright labels advertising the latest probiotic craze or how the
fruit is on the bottom. Unfortunately, and although many buyers
have the best intention and believe they are making a healthy
food choice, the vast majority of these yogurts are about as
healthy as a candy bar. Some even contain more sugar (in various
forms, yogurt brands are notorious for masking their true sugar
content) than a serving of Pepsi.
A Few Reasons Why Yogurt is Healthy
(1) The bacteria cultures in yogurt have been shown to stimulate
infection-fighting white blood cells. This may lead to less illness
and quicker recovery from illness.
(2) Yogurt contains protein (see MMA Diet: Protein) and because
of the fermentation process the protein is “predigested”
which means it’s easier for the body to absorb.
(3) The live active cultures in yogurt create lactase, so even
those with protein allergies or lactose intolerance may find
they can enjoy yogurt.
What to Look For
(1) “Plain.” While the word “natural” is
all-too-often used deceptively, the word “plain” when
it comes to yogurt helps separate it from those filled with flavorings
or from the highly preserved “fruit on the bottom”
varieties.
(2) 11g or less of sugar per serving
(3) A short ingredient list that looks identical or awfully similar
to these:
i. CULTURED PASTEURIZED ORGANIC NONFAT MILK, PECTIN, VITAMIN
D
ii. CULTURED PASTEURIZED NONFAT MILK, LIVE AND ACTIVE CULTURES
Additional Tips
- Another healthy option is to look for “Greek” yogurt
with a similar ingredient list. While regular yogurt may contain
11g of sugar and 8g of protein per 6oz serving, Greek yogurt
can pack in more than 18g of protein while also containing less
sugar within the same 6oz serving size.
- The small individual servings are often not the best choice
because they usually only come in the sweetened and flavored
varieties. Instead, opt for the 32oz containers if possible.
Recommendations
Because the vast majority of athletes shop at grocery stores,
here are two of the best brands I’ve found that most major
stores will carry:
- Stonyfield Plain nonfat (they also have an organic variety)
- Chobani Plain nonfat Greek
Cameron Conaway is the author of “Caged: Memoirs of a Cage-Fighting
Poet.” He’s an NSCA-Certified Personal Trainer, an
MMA Conditioning Coach and a NESTA Sports Nutrition Specialist.
Source Sherdog
|
Forget
About Diaz, GSP Now Has to Focus on Carlos Condit
by Damon
Martin
“I
wouldn’t be surprised if Carlos spoiled the whole thing.
If he wins, that means he’s the best man and I want to face
the best man. I want to fight the winner. The fans want to see
me fight Diaz, I want to fight Diaz. It’s the fight everyone
wants to see for a long time. Hopefully it will happen.”
~ Georges St-Pierre on Friday, Feb. 3
Throughout
his long and storied UFC career, Georges St-Pierre has made it
his business to fight whoever the promotion put in front of him.
He
never hand picked opponents and even in his debut fight he faced
an ultra-tough fighter like Karo Parisyan.
That’s
why it was so out of form for St-Pierre to get visibly angered
and ask the UFC for the chance to face former Strikeforce champion
Nick Diaz. All week leading up to UFC 143, it was hard to watch
any UFC video or read any story about the main event that didn’t
somehow reference St-Pierre’s desire to face Diaz should
he get past Carlos Condit.
The
only problem… Nick Diaz didn’t get past Carlos Condit.
Condit
defeated Diaz on Saturday night by unanimous decision to become
the new interim UFC welterweight champion, and also the top contender
to face St-Pierre when he returns.
St-Pierre
always knew that was a possibility, but now his hopes of silencing
the brash and outspoken Diaz are gone, and he has to turn his
attention to Condit instead.
UFC
president Dana White knew just how bad St-Pierre wanted the fight
with Diaz, but he’s not getting it now. White hopes GSP
can focus on Condit with just as much attention because that’s
who he’s getting.
“I
know he wanted Diaz, he really wanted that Diaz fight bad, but
it’s not going to be Diaz. So he better get angry with Carlos
Condit or focused on Carlos Condit or whatever it is he needs
to do,” White said about the St-Pierre/Condit match-up after
UFC 143 was over.
St-Pierre
has never struggled with focus outside of his last loss when
he faced Ultimate Fighter Season 4 winner Matt Serra, and seemingly
overlooked the Renzo Gracie black belt. The result was GSP getting
knocked out in the first round.
Since
that time, St-Pierre has been as dominant a champion as there
has ever been at 170 pounds, but will his emotional let down
from not getting to face Nick Diaz come back to bite him?
When
St-Pierre comes back later this year to defend his title everyone
will find out for sure.
Source:
MMA Weekly
|
The
Japanese scene is facing increasingly dangerous waters
By Zach
Arnold
When
Fedor Emelianenko rocked Satoshi Ishii and sent him to the hospital,
the initial worry was about a broken nose. In the post-fight
chatter, the blood was discussed as a factor in changing Ishii’s
psychology during the fight. For some fighters, seeing their
own blood can spook them. What Satoshi Ishii didn’t know
when he got rattled by Fedor is that it may have very well been
his last fight ever.
Putting
the cherry on top of the proverbial sundae, Japanese weekly publication
Cyzo (which has been on a very good run this month for fight
business stories) reports that doctors have told Ishii that he
suffered a cerebral edema from the NYE beating. As a result,
he was warned that any further blows to the head would cause
some serious damage. As Cyzo put it, Ishii is facing a retirement
crisis. There had been some discussion that he would face Ricardo
Arona in late March in Brazil but that fight didn’t look
to be in the cards. After this latest development, the MMA prospects
for Ishii look to be bleak as well.
After
the retirement of Hidehiko Yoshida, Satoshi Ishii was supposed
to be the golden boy to become the new face, the new Japanese
icon of an MMA scene that desparately needed a new hero from
the Olympic judo world. Ishii, still a young man, had the advantage
of being backed by K-Dash, the entertainment powerhouse company
associated with Antonio Inoki and operated by Tatsuo Kawamura,
a well-known entertainment player who just happened to go to
school with the late Hiromichi Momose, the original Godfather
of PRIDE.
Even
with this management advantage, Ishii managed to screw his golden
ticket to make serious cash in the fight game. He was never comfortable
with the climate that was created for his presence in Japan.
He showed up at press conferences and demonstrated goofy behavior.
Rather than fans liking his quirky nature, he got booed and booed
without mercy. He quickly became a pariah. Instead of being cheered
as the next big thing, he was treated by the fans like a sworn
and hated enemy. He fought a few squash matches and then managed
to see his career implode on NYE 2010 against Jerome Le Banner.
The fans cheered hard for Le Banner and booed Ishii without mercy
for going to a decision.
Ishii
promptly left Japan and sent many mixed signals. It was leaked
in newspapers that he was going to become an American citizenship
and that he had relocated to Los Angeles. He ended up getting
married to a young Japanese girl and, nine months after marriage,
promptly got divorced. He was supposed to fight on a Strikeforce
card in Stockton but had visa troubles. He focused on training
at Reign MMA (Mark Munoz’s gym) and Black House in Southern
California with Ed Buckley. Then, out of nowhere, reports surfaced
that Ishii was going to be at the Olympic judo tryouts in Orlando,
Florida in hopes of representing the United States one day. Like
everything else, that didn’t pan out. So, Ishii fought Paulo
Filho soon in Brazil. That set up a fight offer against Fedor
on NYE, taken at the very last minute. Predictably, Tokyo Broadcasting
System said ‘no’ to covering the Inoki-themed NYE event,
thus defeating the purpose of having Ishii on the card given
that he was never a strong live-house gate attraction. Fedor
pummeled Ishii in Saitama and may have short-circuited an MMA
career that is full of would-have-been and could-have-been scenarios.
K-1’s
disappearing act
For
all the rumors and all the talk about K-1 making a come back
in 2012, the truth is that there is no K-1 now. After Alistair
Overeem won the 2010 GP tournament at Ariake Colosseum in Tokyo,
Godfather Kazuyoshi Ishii found himself looking on the outside-in
in regards to having any juice in the fight game.
With
the death of K-1 and Barbizon taking control of the assets, many
kickboxing greats that made a name for themselves in K-1 are
either retiring or looking to move to different sports (boxing,
MMA, so on and so forth). Badr Hari, the Golden Boy, has faced
a lot of trouble outside of the ring. So, when he had his final
kickboxing match over the weekend against Gokhan Saki, many in
the Japanese press paid close attention and covered the fight
given Mr. Hari’s name value still being relevant with Japanese
fans.
The
Legacy of Badr Hari: An all-time great and a disappointment
For
Japanese fans of K-1, a network property that had been so hot
for so many years, watching the exodus of Hari and many other
top-level strikers is crushing. It wasn’t supposed to be
this way when PRIDE croaked. The gamble Kazuyoshi Ishii made
when PRIDE died was that he would be the only player with connections
to network television. Therefore, if anyone wanted to get on
network TV with an MMA property, they had to go through him.
He would get a significant portion of the TV revenue from rights
fees and the promoter would have to deal with the live gate on
their own accord. As we saw with HERO’s and DREAM, this
turned out to be a losing proposition. Guys like Shinya Aoki
never became mainstream stars. Yes, the public didn’t necessarily
buy into them as stars, but a lot of those problems were compounded
by the fact that the media themselves didn’t see those guys
on a level of an Alistair Overeem or Jerome Le Banner. With more
and more K-1 fighters claiming they got stiffed on money, the
image of K-1 took a tumble real fast.
Within
five years of PRIDE’s death, K-1 also croaked. In 2012,
the only ‘major’ show that will be taking place is
UFC Japan at Saitama Super Arena with a card that is not necessarily
the most optimal card for UFC appealing to a broad base of Japanese
fight fans. With that said, the card looks a hell of a lot better
than what UFC has offered for other showings so far in 2012.
UFC
is not going to fill the vacuum that has been left behind by
the carcasses of PRIDE & K-1 and that’s a real shame
on a lot of levels. While there are plenty of smaller shows (like
DEEP coming up at Tokyo Dome City Hall), the large-scale environment
for a big Japanese show is toast right now. It’s terrible.
The Japanese fight scene has had such a rich history of producing
serious, mega-level events and to see what has happened is an
utter disappointment. However, it’s been a disappointment
that has been man-made by many crooks and egotistical bastards
who became too clever for their own good. The major players made
their beds and they have to lay in them. They just didn’t
know that they were death beds, however.
Not
all ’sponsors’ are created equal
Nikkan
Sports is the newspaper that is helping promote the UFC Japan
2012 event. They have been running more and more UFC articles
in their paper. The response from their readership, so far, has
largely been tepid & muted. That’s not to say that their
readers don’t respond to stories involving gaijin fighters
— Mayweather, Pacquiao, and plenty of boxers who fight in
Vegas and elsewhere get good coverage in the paper and the readership
does respond. UFC, right now, faces a difficult challenge in
Japan because of just how much damage has been created by the
clowns that burnt the national scene into the ground.
The
rumored buyer of the UFC Japan 2012 sold show is Don Quijote,
the discount chain store, and they are alleged to have gone through
Dentsu (big ad agency) as their middle man. Dentsu has an excellent
track record in the fight game, as they had K-1 & PRIDE as
clients during the glory days on network television. Don Quijote’s
chairman has been a long time backer of fighters and promotions
in Japan. Unfortunately, their last big backing was a big loser
— Sengoku. Sengoku had their offices with DQ. Sengoku, which
was originally headed by former SEG UFC Japan backers and by
Kokuho, the power broker behind J-ROCK which managed Hidehiko
Yoshida & his stable of fighters, promised a more UFC-like
technical approach to matchmaking as opposed to what DREAM was
doing. In the end, Sengoku shows heavily bombed at the 10,000
seat Ryogoku Kokugikan in Tokyo. Once Don Quijote cut the cord
on Sengoku, that was it for the promotion.
So,
hopefully Don Quijote as a sponsor will be able to recover some
of their losses by supporting the UFC Japan 2012 show. They’re
going to need it.
A
company backing a fighter or a promotion in Japan as a sponsor
may have different meaning than what you think a sponsor is.
In the Japanese fight game, a ’sponsor’ is used as
a term to describe a rich money mark who becomes a benefactor
for a fighter. And, as you might guess, many ’sponsors’
over the decades in Japan are associated with the yakuza. Typically,
this means taking fighters out to dinner, paying bills, giving
them side jobs, finding them… companionship… if you
will, so on and so forth.
Ever
since Rikidozan created the monster of pro-wrestling at the beginning
of the Reconstruction period after World War II in Japan, the
connection between the yakuza and the fight game was always strong.
Being a ’sponsor’ for a gangster was the fastest way
to gain status and clout as a celebrity. While the wrestling
& MMA scene in Japan has taken a brutal hit, there are still
some individuals who see being associated with wrestlers and
fighters as being a good status symbol.
Which
leads us to this review that Cyzo recently published… The
Cyzo review is talking about a new ‘taboo’ scandal
book that was published discussing recent scandals in the Japanese
pro-wrestling world. The lead item in the taboo book is a story
about how NOAH, the promotion created by the late Mitsuharu Misawa,
allegedly got swindled out of a lot of cash. Cyzo brings some
business context to the story by talking about what the current
fight scene looks like today versus what it was in the past.
For example, they had a source claim that New Japan is only making
about 1/3rd of the cash today as they did 10 years ago. 10 years
ago, New Japan was still doing good and was helped out by the
Inoki/MMA connection but was starting to hit a down swing because
of just what a mess things had become with guys like Tadao Yasuda
and Kazuyuki Fujita getting pushed because of their MMA success.
Nevertheless, Cyzo dropped this surprising item — NOAH,
a company without television support and struggling to draw big
gates, is now in a similar ball park to New Japan in terms of
revenues generated. You can look at this and say, “Hey,
NOAH’s not dying,” or you can look at it and say, “without
Yukes owning New Japan, my goodness, they would be a dead promotion
walking.”
So,
with that as the context, Cyzo summarizes the taboo book story
about NOAH’s financial scandal. The story goes as follows:
A
woman from Kanagawa prefecture, who was close to both Mitsuharu
Misawa and Ryu Nakata (Misawa’s right-hand man who came
with him from All Japan when AJ split in 2000), was accused by
police of fraud. The book claims that this woman is married to
a husband who is influential in secret society. (You know where
this is going.) Supposedly, Misawa & Nakata were introduced
to this woman by former wrestler Haruka Eigen, who was friends
with the husband.
The book claims that the woman acted as a ’sponsor’
for the wrestlers, paying her favorite wrestlers money and taking
care of them after they left NOAH or with additional work. After
Misawa died, supposedly this woman was going to put up a steak
place and use his name.
When Misawa died and NOAH suffered a power struggle between Kenta
Kobashi vs. Ryu Nakata, Naomichi Marufuji & Akira Taue became
good cop/bad cop. Nakata, with his ‘hardline system’
according to his enemies, became the power broker. The book claims
that the woman’s ‘true character’ soon surfaced.
According to the book, the woman asked Misawa’s wife for
a loan of 50 million yen. The woman claimed that her money was
frozen by the Tax Bureau in Japan. The loan was granted and the
total amount estimated was 53 million yen over five installments.
The status of whether or not there was an IOU is/was in question.
The book claims that the woman only paid back 5 million yen to
Misawa’s wife. This prompted a court battle in Tokyo District
Court where Misawa’s wife went to seize assets of the woman
& husband in question. She apparently won. Because a civil
case was made, criminal charges were not filed.
The woman in question ended up getting arrested on charges of
allegedly defrauding senior citizens in Tokushima and was given
a jail sentence of seven years. The belief is that the women
stole a whole lot of money over several years. The book makes
the charge that this ‘black money’ that was being scammed
from other people was being used to pay off the wrestlers while
she acted as the role of a benefactor.
There have been many financial scandals over the years in both
the Japanese wrestling & MMA scenes but they almost always
turn out to be uglier than you think they really are.
It
should come as no surprise that once this taboo came out, the
internal squabbles that have infected NOAH are now surfacing
to the public in a big way. It’s still shocking because
the Japanese way is to keep your mouth shut and not say anything
even if you aren’t getting paid or aren’t getting a
fair shake.
These
two items at Kakutolog (here and here) detail what a mess the
company has become. In short, Jun Akiyama is criticizing NOAH’s
front office for some of the moves they’ve made. Over the
last three years, 10 wrestlers have left and 3 of them are finished.
A big mishap happened when NOAH booked Akitoshi Saito, the man
who accidentally killed Misawa with a back-drop suplex in Hiroshima,
along with Akiyama for a tag titles match in Osaka on January
23rd. This booking, made by Naomichi Marufuji, was done last
November. In late December, Saito announced that he would become
a freelancer. In early January, NOAH announced that Saito, Naoki
Sano, and Masao Inoue were now free from the company.
(This
means that they work for NOAH only if they get an offer bid to
do a tour at a time.)
Akiyama
was pissed that Saito, who he considers a main player in the
company, was not kept on the regular roster and that he was booked
in a title match as a freelancer. This prompted a discussion
about the bad communication issues between Nakata (the boss)
and Marufuji (the booker) over talent relations.
The
irony in the comments is that Akiyama was supposed to be groomed
to take over the company from Misawa but he didn’t want
to take the leadership role even though ‘the gifted one’
was Misawa’s hand-picked guy to succeed him. Kenta Kobashi
became a figurehead Vice President but he ended up with little
to no power in the end, either.
With
all the turmoil in place, NOAH management essentially pushed
the reset button for matchmaking at their 1/23 Osaka Prefectural
Gym show by having their major title belts change hands (Morishima
beat Shiozaki to win the Heavyweight belt, Akiyama & Saito
beat Giant Bernard & Karl Anderson to win the tag belts.)
Morishima’s new title reign is supposed to put him in a
position of having a ‘monster’ run… instead, all
anyone can talk about in the press and on message boards is how
things are falling apart for the promotion with the green mat.
Source: Fight Opinion
|
Kauai
cage match #12
Rumble at the Resort-Warpath to Mayhem
March 3, 2012
Kauai Beach Resort
Aloha All,
Tickets
are now on sale for Kauai cage match #12, Rumble at the Resort-Warpath
to Mayhem, March 3, 2012, Kauai Beach Resort!
We
are again breaking new ground on Kauai as this is the first ever
MMA event inside a Resort ! We have come a long way since 2005
starting MMA on Kauai and not being welcomed with open arms with
the public to now being able to host an event inside a Resort
shows the tremendous steps we have taken here on Kauai with our
promotion.
Come
and see the new up and coming fighters as they battle their way
to Mayhem at the Mansion at the end of the year!
Tickets
now available at:
Kauai Harley- Puhi
Deli and Bread- Kukui Grove
Pono Market-Kapaa
Wongs-Hanapepe
Baby Blutique- VIP
Doors open at 5:30pm
Weigh
ins will be on March 2, 2012-Kukui Grove Shopping Center- 5:30pm
Official
after Party will be at Tiano's in Lihue
For
reserve VIP seating call 808-245-5888
Mahalo
and see you all on March 3rd!!! |
Amateur
Boxing Event
Wanted to let you know the next Amateur Boxing Event will be
at the Palolo District Park Gym on Saturday, February 11, 2012.
Boxing begins at 6:30 p.m.
Boxers from Oahu, Maui, and Molokai will be Boxing.
106 lbs National Ranked #3 and Ringside World Open Champion Lisa
Ha from the Kawano Boxing Club will box against Tiana Sarme from
Southside Maui Boxing Club in the first bout. Lisa has to go
to work right after or we would have made that the main event.
11- 15 bouts scheduled, admission is $12.
Thank Your For Your Support!!!
Source: Bruce Kawano |
Mike
Swick: They Call Him Mr. Glass
It’s been almost two years since former ‘Ultimate Fighter’
competitor Mike Swick stepped foot in the Octagon, and as of
right now there’s no definite sign when he may return to
action.
Injuries
have plagued Swick for the last few years, most recently a knee
injury that knocked him out of a scheduled fight with Erick Silva
at UFC 134 in Brazil.
Prior
to that, Swick was dealing with a esophageal spasms and acid
reflux, which was originally misdiagnosed by doctors before the
real ailment got dealt with.
Now
on the shelf for the last 24 months, Swick is still gunning for
a return and has stayed in contact with UFC matchmaker Joe Silva,
but UFC President Dana White isn’t sure when he could be
back fighting again.
“I
know Joe Silva has (talked to him),” said White following
UFC 143 on Saturday. “Swick hurts himself when he gets out
of bed in the morning, everyday. I love Swick he’s one of
my favorite guys, but he’s Mr. Glass.”
Swick
has stayed busy outside the fight game however.
He
still conducts MMA seminars on a regular basis and has also started
his own screen printing shop called Spartan Printing out of San
Jose, Calif.
Unfortunately,
his return date to the UFC is unknown at this time.
Swick’s
career is starting to mirror another famously talented UFC fighter
whose body simply never allowed him to get back to top form after
a run towards a title just a couple of years earlier.
David
Terrell was an unbelievably gifted fighter, who knocked out Matt
Lindland in only his sixth professional fight. He lost in his
bid to win the UFC middleweight title when he was TKO’d
by Evan Tanner in 2005 at UFC 51.
Following
that fight, Terrell fought once more with a submission win over
Scott Smith in April 2006 at UFC 59 before injuries prevented
him from ever fighting again.
Injuries
kept Terrell from taking his next 3 scheduled fights in the UFC
before the promotion eventually released him from his contract.
He now teaches and trains fighters out of Northern California,
but never returned to fighting himself.
Obviously,
Swick has shown every indication that he plans to return, but
when or where that might be remains unknown.
Source: MMA Weekly
|
Jay
Hieron Says Ben Askren Knows Who the Real Bellator Champ Is
For
Jay Hieron, 2011 was a year in which success was measured more
by the things he was able to accomplish, not by what he wasn’t.
“I
came back from a lot of adversity in my life and did pretty well
getting back on my feet and getting my career back in line,”
he told MMAWeekly.com. “It was a pretty productive year
for me.
“I
became more well-rounded as a fighter and I got to show that.
Some guys don’t utilize (time off); they don’t go about
it the right way. They don’t try to sharpen up their skills
or get better as a complete athlete. That’s one thing I
live by, and I did that and came back strong.”
After
winning Bellator’s Season Four welterweight tournament in
May, Hieron was given a chance to face welterweight champion
Ben Askren in October, falling just shy of claiming the title
in a split-decision loss.
It’s
a loss that Hieron doesn’t agree with.
“I
still believe I won that fight,” he said. “Of course,
the decision didn’t turn out the way I wanted it to, but
I feel I performed great. I think right now I’m the Bellator
champion. He knows it, I know it, and everyone who watched the
fight knows it.”
Still
under contract to the promotion, Hieron would love to face Askren
again, but he doesn’t feel he should have to toe the same
line he did last year to get another title shot.
“Bellator
goes by the tournament format, and I’m not doing the tournament
again,” he said. “I feel I won the tournament and I
feel I’m the Bellator champion and won the title; why would
I go back and do the tournament again to claim what’s mine
already?
“I
like Bellator as an organization. I like how you earn your shot
there, but I earned my shot and won it.”
With
Bellator’s next season starting in early March, Hieron was
asked when he thinks he’ll return to action.
“I’m
not sure,” he said. “I let my manager handle that.
He’s talking to Bellator right now. It will definitely be
sometime this year; probably April, May-ish sometime.”
When
Hieron does finally return, he intends to be even better than
he was before.
“Of
course, there’s always another level,” he said. “Once
you think you have it figured out, your days are numbered. I
want to get to the top just like every other man, and I work
towards that every day.
“Everything
happens for a reason. I just try to stay positive and know there’s
a plan for me and keep moving forward. I’m in the gym, training
and keeping my body healthy. Once they call, I’ll be ready
to go. It’s going to be a big year. I’m going to get
back in there and show people what I can do.”
Source: MMA Weekly
|
GSP
Opens as 3 to 1 Favorite Over Condit
Carlos
Condit locked up his spot as the UFC interim welterweight champion
with a unanimous decision victory on Saturday night over Nick
Diaz, and now awaits the chance to face Georges St-Pierre to
unify the titles and declare the true 170lb title holder in the
UFC.
While
the fight is not by any means set in stone because Condit may
end up defending his belt during the summer months while St-Pierre
continues to recover from knee surgery, it’s still the fight
everyone is buzzing about post-UFC 143.
Well
the odds for the proposed fight have been made courtesy of Nick
Kalikas from BetonFighting.com and St-Pierre will come into the
bout as a sizeable favorite.
According
to Kalikas, St-Pierre opens as a -315 favorite in the potential
fight with Condit, and the challenger comes back as the underdog
at +225.
The
odds would have actually been a little bit more in St-Pierre’s
favor, but with the champion recovering from major knee surgery,
and by the time he comes back for a proposed November date he
will have been out of action for more than a year and a half,
the favor falls on Condit’s side a bit more.
“It
would have been higher,” said Kalikas. “But the injury
and time off has an impact on the number and Condit’s a
legit threat.”
St-Pierre
is targeting a late 2012 return date, but it’s unclear if
Condit will sit and wait for him or take another fight and defend
his interim belt in the mean time.
The
most likely contender right now would be Jake Ellenberger if
he can get past Diego Sanchez on Feb 15 in Nebraska. Should he
win, it would almost seem like the perfect scenario for him to
face Condit again in a rematch from a fight the two had a few
years ago.
Condit
edged out Ellenberger by split decision when the previously met.
Source: MMA Weekly
|
How
a Bottle of Mad Dog Almost Prevented Griffin vs. Bonnar
The
epic fight between Forrest Griffin and Stephan Bonnar that capped
off the first season of the ‘Ultimate Fighter’ was
literally the turning point from the UFC almost going belly up
to an overnight sensation growing into the juggernaut it is today.
The
three round war between Griffin and Bonnar is still widely considered
one of the greatest fights ever, and truly the moment that the
UFC hit the big stage.
Unbeknownst
to most however is the fact that the fight very nearly didn’t
happen.
‘Ultimate
Fighter’ season 1 fighter Stephan Bonnar almost didn’t
make it to the finale after he snuck out of the house following
his semifinal win over Mike Swick, and was almost booted from
the show.
UFC
President Dana White recounted the story when speaking after
Saturday’s UFC 143 event when referencing just how stir
crazy the fighters get in the ‘Ultimate Fighter’ house.
“The
first season of the ‘Ultimate Fighter’ was the longest
season we’ve ever done. It was something like 8 weeks and
those guys were losing their (expletive) minds. I almost kicked
(Stephan) Bonnar off the show. Bonnar turned the shower on, pretended
he was taking a shower and climbed out the window and went to
a liquor store. Because we took all the liquor out of the house,
remember after the big fight?” White said.
“He
got caught obviously. These idiots were in there driving around
for six weeks, seven weeks whatever it was, that house was in
the middle of nowhere. There’s no liquor store near there.
The guy was walking for like an hour and 30 minutes. So the shower
was on we caught him leaving.”
Actually
according to Bonnar who first told his version of the story when
speaking with MMAWeekly Radio all the way back in 2008, says
he got busted after he got back with his high end bottle of liquor
already purchased and ready for consumption.
It
all started during another untold tale from the first season
of the show when Bonnar actually contracted staph infection and
had to be removed from the house to receive medical treatment.
The former ‘Ultimate Fighter’ finalist says it’s
easy to spot when he was gone from the house because during one
of the most pivotal moments of the show, he’s nowhere to
be found.
“Remember
the episode where everyone went out and got wasted and (Chris)
Leben, (Josh) Koscheck, and (Bobby) Southworth got in the fight
and Leben destroyed the house, and he was all drunk?” Bonnar
recounted.
“I
was nowhere to be found in that episode because I got a pretty
bad staph infection and they were all freaked out and the house,
they had all our stuff sent to cleaners, and the house cleaned
and got everyone out of the house except for me, they actually
shipped me off to like the Hoover Dam to be quarantined for three
days.”
The
hotel that Bonnar was sent to was more than an hour away from
the ‘Ultimate Fighter’ house, but lucky for him one
of the people left to safeguard the fighter and keep an eye on
him during his medical treatments allowed him to have a little
fun.
The
result was Bonnar being able to afford his liquor purchase upon
his return.
“They
took all of our belongings and our money, but when I was quarantined
at the hacienda the guy watching me actually let me out of my
room to come down and play some blackjack with him. Everyone
lost but I won like five bucks, and that was enough to buy some
Mad Dog,” Bonnar said.
Like
White said on Saturday, Bonnar snuck out of a bathroom window
at the TUF house, walked to the liquor store and purchased his
bottle of Mad Dog and returned. The problem for Bonnar wasn’t
necessarily getting out, it was actually getting back into the
house.
“The
hard part was sneaking back in cause I knew I saw people out
with flashlights, I saw people huddled up on the front porch.
I stuck back in through the back fence. There’s this little
tiny bathroom that I sneaked out of that I was fitting myself
back into, I had like one arm in and I was like a little fish
until I eventually plopped into the bathtub,” Bonnar said.
“I
put a towel around and walked outside and there were all the
producers and a bunch of people and I said ‘Wow, you’re
right Diego the water pressure in the shower down here’s
way better that the water pressure upstairs’. Then the main
producer tore into me.”
Needless
to say, UFC officials including Dana White were none too happy
that Bonnar snuck out of the house, even if it was to buy the
high quality Mad Dog. Ultimately, they didn’t kick Bonnar
off the show because he was already in the finals and the first
season was coming to a close.
“Imagine
that, so much crazy (expletive) happened that first season. Imagine
if I kicked Stephan Bonnar off the show for going to a liquor
store. Forrest and Stephan would have never happened,” said
White.
In
hindsight, a bottle of Mad Dog almost cost everyone the pleasure
of Forrest Griffin vs. Stephan Bonnar at the ‘Ultimate Fighter’
season 1 finale.
Luckily,
White allowed Bonnar to remain in the finals and the rest, as
they say, is history.
Source: MMA Weekly
|
Carlos
Condit vs. Nick Diaz 2 Coming Soon?
The
UFC 143: Diaz vs. Condit main event between welterweight contenders
Nick Diaz and Carlos Condit ended in a unanimous decision. Condit
walked away with the interim UFC welterweight championship belt
and Nick Diaz walked away contemplating retirement.
Some
disagreed with the decision, despite all three ringside judges
scoring the fight for Condit.
Could
a rematch between Condit and Diaz be on the horizon?
UFC
president Dana White didn’t close the door on the possibility
when asked following the UFC 143 post-fight press conference.
“I
like guys staying active and fighting. As far as I know, Carlos
came out of this fight with no injuries. He went a good five
rounds, was in great shape. He could defend his interim title
and then fight GSP because I don’t know how long GSP is
going to be out,” said White.
“I
think that if you really believe you are one of the best in the
world, why would you not want to stay active.”
Condit
didn’t seem warm to the idea when questioned about it at
the post-fight press conference.
“From
my standpoint, being in the cage, I didn’t think it was
all that close. I felt like I dominated almost every round,”
said Condit. “He did take my back there at the end and maybe
won that round, but for the most part, I picked him a part.”
White
started pondering a rematch between the two following the fight.
“I
was thinking it after the fight. I was like, you know what? People
are bitching; people think that was close or whatever. We can
do that fight again before GSP comes back,” he said.
“It
depends on Carlos,” added White. “Carlos has really
got to say, and Nick’s got to say I want to fight him again
too.”
Source: MMA Weekly
|
Mir
says Werdum's Jiu-Jitsu is better than his
One
of the greatest villains in MMA – in Brazilian’s eyes,
of course –, Frank Mir talked exclusively to TATAME Magazine
said he’s not the best grappler in MMA’s heavyweight
division.
The
American, who in last December submitted Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira,
said this “title” belongs to a Brazilian. “When
people compliment my Jiu-Jitsu I also say (Fabricio) Werdum’s
is better than mine”, Mir said, who through his career defeated
names like Brock Lesnar, Tim Sylvia and Roberto Traven using
the gentle art.
Werdum,
who fights this Saturday at UFC 143, when he meets Roy Nelson,
was caught by surprise by the good words said about him.
“I
didn’t see it coming, I’ve always seen him as a ‘cocky’
guy”, he told TATAME. “I guess he’s a very good
athlete, and he proved the world he has great Jiu-Jitsu level…
I don’t see myself as the best on the ground, but I’ve
shown the world I can handle things there”.
Happy
about the compliments, Fabrício does not discard a bout
against Mir at UFC’s cage, once the American does not have
a bout scheduled since he defeated Nogueira at UFC 140, in December.
“I
guess this fight could happen, absolutely… My next appointment
is Roy Nelson, but it’s one of the fights that might come
up”.
Source: Tatame
|
Brandon
Vera Injured; Thiago Silva Rematch Off
The
planned rematch between Brandon Vera and Thiago Silva for UFC
on FX 3 has been scrapped. UFC officials on Saturday announced
that Vera had to back out of the bout due to an undisclosed injury.
UFC
on FX 3 is expected to take place May 15 in Virginia.
The
two first met at UFC 125 on New Year’s Day 2011. Silva initially
won the bout. The result was later deemed a no contest, however,
due to Silva his post-fight urine sample testing “inconsistent
with human urine.”
Silva
also had his license revoked for one year and was assessed a
$33,750 fine.
Initially
released by the UFC following the fight, Vera was brought back,
winning a unanimous decision over Eliot Marshall at UFC 137.
Silva
has not competed since the first bout.
Source: MMA Weekly
|
Stephen
‘Wonderboy’ Thompson: From Dr. Jekyll to Mr. Hyde
It’s
not very often that the first fight on a pay-per-view undercard
gets a lot of attention, but that can’t be said for UFC
143: Diaz vs. Condit.
Why
are people so interested in the first fight of the night that
will air on Facebook only?
It’s
because of the debut of former kickboxing sensation Stephen ‘Wonderboy’
Thompson, who faces Dan Stittgen to kick off the show on Saturday
night.
Thompson
is well known in the striking world after amassing an impressive
57-0 record with more than 40 knockouts to his credit, but to
the MMA world he first popped up as a sparring partner for UFC
welterweight champion Georges St-Pierre.
The
Canadian champion actually brought Thompson in to mimic his next
opponent at the time, Carlos Condit, and according to St-Pierre’s
testimony ‘Wonderboy’ served his purpose all too well.
Now
with his own UFC shot just hours away, Thompson was legitimately
surprised to hear about all the interest in his fight, but he’s
happy to prove the fans right who wanted to see him perform in
the Octagon.
“It
definitely surprised me how many people contacted and messaged
me, and were out there on the forums saying positive things.
Yeah, I kind of used that as fuel to get ready, cause I don’t
want to let those people down” Thompson told MMAWeekly Radio.
“I’m
definitely training harder than ever. I’m going to show
the world what I’m made of, and show that I should be in
the UFC.”
In
perfect fashion for his UFC debut that he took on short notice,
Thompson actually got a switch of opponents only days after signing
to the promotion. Original opponent Justin Edwards got injured
and so Thompson found himself now facing fellow Octagon newcomer
Dan Stittgen.
In
all honestly, it didn’t make much of a difference for Thompson
because he knows from the first time the referee says go, the
strategy for most of his opponents is the same.
Get
to the ground as fast as possible.
“We
know Dan is going to be a jiu-jitsu guy, a wrestler guy and a
majority of my fights want to get me on my back. So it’s
kind of easy because my training camp hasn’t changed that
much from when I was going to face Justin Edwards, because they
were kind of similar. It keeps you on your toes though,”
Thompson stated.
“That
makes the strategy fairly easy because I know what they’re
going to do every time. If I do come up to that guy who is going
to stand and strike, well that’s what I want to do, I’m
all for that. But it’s smart for those guys to try and shoot
for my legs and in my training camp, I can train for the same
thing. It does make it a little easier.”
To
hear Thompson talk about his debut, there is a lift in his voice
and almost always a smile on his face. He truly looks like a
kid just getting ready to open presents on Christmas morning.
But
don’t mistake his signature grin and happy demeanor for
weakness in the cage. It’s much like Robert Louis Stevenson’s
classic tale Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde.
While
Thompson isn’t an evil entity devoid of emotion like the
character in Stevenson’s book, he is a different kind of
animal when the cage door closes and an opponent stands across
from him. He unleashes his own special brand of violence and
the end result is usually an opponent who never wants to see
Thompson in the cage with them again.
“I’m
always the nice guy. I always have a smile on my face, always
talking to people. When I get in the cage, it’s a different
story,” said Thompson.
“I
may have a smile on my face, but if you’re standing in front
of me, it’s going to be rough. I’m going to make you
work for it.”
Source: MMA Weekly
|
Rafael
Natal talks victory at UFC 143
Rafael
Natal beat the so far undefeated Michael Kuiper, taking him down
four times only on round one. On the second row he scared out
of his fans, but regained control at the end of the round, almost
getting a finish on the last seconds. Winner on a unanimous decision,
the student of Vinicius Draculino and Renzo Gracie talked to
TATAME TV directly from Las Vegas about the bout, his second
win in the UFC.
What
are your thoughts about the fight? Did everything go according
to your plan?
Yeah.
It was really according to my plans. Many people criticized it,
claiming it would be an easy fight for me, because he had 11
wins, but wins in Europe, but I was hoping for a hard fight because
he submitted or knocked out all the guys he fought, so I knew
he was good. That what was I was expecting: a hard fight, I had
to show all my weapons. I know I can do better than this, but
he’s a tough guy and that was what I could do at that moment.
You
really wanted to take him down and use your Jiu-Jitsu?
It
really depends on how I’m feeling on the day of the fight.
It happens in practice too. One day my stand-up’s great
and I can connect good coups, but I felt I wasn’t really
connecting good coups, like my kicks and I started using my Jiu-Jitsu,
which is something that always works for me. I realized it was
working this takedown game and I kept doing it.
At
any point did you think you could lose? Because you went through
some hard moments on the third round…
On
the third round I really felt his hands, I was really tired at
that point to, moving forward and I wasn’t really feeling
comfortable. When he punched me and I felt, I thought it was
time to work on my half guard, hold him there for a while, take
a breath and get myself together. When I felt he hit me hard,
that was the time I really got hurt. He kept on hitting me from
the top, but later I regained confidence, swept, took him down,
feel on top of him and showed my game. It’s something that
happens when you fight.
So
it was basically heart, right?
Yeah.
Brazilian do never give up. I’m a good Brazilian.
How
were the trainings coming into this fight? Do you think about
the future?
It
was the first time I trained in New York. I trained there with
my former team and then went to Brazil. It was really great my
prep. I trained with 1:55 in Brazil, who a guy who’s very
good at Muay Thai. Draculino was also there with me, all my teammates,
my team, Sapo Team, supported me, all my students. It was the
first time I did this camping in Brazil and in New York and I
wanna do it again. I don’t think about my next fight. I
want to celebrate. I’m only fighting in two, three months
from now, I want to party with my family, celebrate this win
and then I’ll think about the next one. I need to rest.
Send
your message to your fans in Brazil…
All
my love for you guys in Brazil. It’s another win to all
of us. I know it wasn’t the way we wanted it to be. I wanted
to knock him out of finish him, but it was a victory. I want
to thank Brazil, TATAME… You’ve always been supportive
and have been there for me, since my first fight, you’re
always talking about my work. It’s great! Thanks everybody!
Source: Tatame
|
Anderson
vs. Sonnen II set for UFC Sao Paulo
On
the post-fight UFC press conference, the president of the organization,
Dana White, affirmed that Chael Sonnen VS. Anderson Silva will
indeed happen in June in Sao Paulo, Brazil, but he has not confirmed
where it is happening at.
Dana
had said earlier this week that he would meet Anderson Silva
on the backstage of UFC 143 with the goal of talking about the
bout. When questioned by TATAME on the press conference after
the event, he said it’s actually happening, but that it
was not signed yet.
Vitor
Belfort vs. Wanderlei Silva will be the co-main event.
Source: Tatame
|
With
UFC 143 crowd against him, Josh Koscheck takes decision
Koscheck
outpoints Pierce (Tracy Lee)LAS VEGAS -- It wouldn't be a Josh
Koshceck fight if the fans weren't trying to boo him out of the
building, would it?
Everyone's
favorite UFC villain was it again on Saturday night at UFC 143,
frustrating the crowd during his fight against Mike Pierce and
taunting them on the mic afterwards. Koscheck took a split-decision
victory every bit as close as it sounds, winning on two of three
judges' score cards, 29-28.
"Hey,
you guys boo me all the time," Koscheck said in his post-fight
interview with Joe Rogan. "I'm the most hated guy in MMA,
guess what, deal with it man! I find a way to win."
Round
one was a very close affair; a tight positional battle with lots
of grappling. According to Compustrike, Pierce outlanded Koscheck
22-16 in the round.
In
round two, Koscheck picked up the pace and opened up a deep cut
in Pierce's scalp, above his left eye. Koscheck landed a late
takedown fairly easily, but couldn't do much with it.
At
the start of round three, the Mandalay Bay Events Center crowd
serenaded Koscheck with a "Koscheck sucks" chant, then
another close round ensued. Koscheck then further aggravated
the crowd with an apparent eye poke late in the round.
Judge
Junichiro Kamijo gave Pierce rounds one and two; Jeff D'Amato
and Jeff Collins both gave Koscheck rounds two and three.
"Mike
Pierce is a tough guy," said Koscheck (19-5) "I knew
this going in."
Koscheck
has won both of his fights since returning from a broken orbital
bone he suffered in his Dec. 2010 loss to Georges St-Pierre.
Source: Yahoo Sports |
Josh
Koscheck Parts Ways with AKA, Open to Fights with Diaz or Condit
A
long hard fought battle greeted Josh Koscheck when he stepped
foot in the Octagon on Saturday night, but when it was over he
still walked away with a victory.
After
being called out by Mike Pierce to make the fight happen, Koscheck
had to use everything in his power to pull out a very close decision
win, but no matter what else happened, he still got the ‘W’.
All
in all, Koscheck was happy with his performance and it also gave
him the chance to shake a few cobwebs loose, after only spending
a few minutes in the cage thus far over the last year.
“I
think it was good for me to go in there and get a good 15 minutes
back in, get my groove going, and get my pace. So I’m looking
for the next opportunity to fight again,” Koscheck said.
What
may have been the more shocking revelation following Koscheck’s
win was his declaration that he is no longer affiliated with
American Kickboxing Academy (AKA).
Koscheck
has been a part of the San Jose based team since he was on the
first season of the ‘Ultimate Fighter’, and it’s
been his stable home for the last seven years.
Now
it appears he’s made a split with the team, although he’s
still working with several of his teammates including fellow
welterweight Jon Fitch and jiu-jitsu coach Dave Camarillo, who
was in his corner for the fight at UFC 143.
“I’ll
be training out of Fresno from now on. I’m no longer affiliated
with some of the people at the gym I’ve been training at.
It was a tough camp knowing that this was my last camp there,”
Koscheck said about leaving AKA.
“I’m
going to do my own thing.”
Koscheck
opened his own gym in Fresno, Calif. some time ago, and has split
time working between there and San Jose previously. Now it looks
like he’ll make his full time camp there, but still working
with some past teammates and coaches.
One
of Koscheck’s main training partners will remain fellow
UFC welterweight Jon Fitch, so there’s still zero chance
of the two teammates facing off in the near future as well.
As
far as what’s next for Koscheck, UFC President Dana White
seemed open to the idea of pitting the former ‘Ultimate
Fighter’ competitor against Nick Diaz next. For his part
like any fight that’s offered to him, Koscheck is up for
it.
“Yeah
definitely why not. He’s a tough guy. It would be a good
fight,” Koscheck said about Diaz.
He
also mentioned a potential showdown with the new UFC interim
welterweight champion, Carlos Condit.
Koscheck
and Condit were originally scheduled to meet at UFC 143, but
once welterweight champion Georges St-Pierre was injured, Condit
stepped in to replace him and faced Diaz on Saturday night.
“Definitely,
there’s a little bit of history with us and we were supposed
to fight tonight. I’m down,” Koscheck said about facing
Condit.
It
remains to be seen whom Koscheck will face next, but his attitude
seems to lend to whoever the UFC offers, he’ll sign on the
dotted line.
Source: MMA Weekly
|
UFC
143: Diaz vs. Condit Attendance and Gate Numbers
The
Ultimate Fighting Championship returned its Las Vegas roots on
Saturday for the first time in 2012 for UFC 143: Diaz vs. Condit.
Las Vegas hosts an annual UFC event on Superbowl weekend, typically
known for its stacked card.
The
sold out event was headlined by a welterweight interim title
bout between Nick Diaz and Carlos Condit. The co-main event featured
a heavyweight battle between Fabricio Werdum and The Ultimate
Fighter 10 winner Roy Nelson.
10,040
spectators filled the Mandalay Bay Events Center to see Condit
decision Diaz to become the interim champion and secure an eventual
fight with titleholder Georges St-Pierre expected for late this
year. Condit was able to beat Diaz to the punch and evade Diaz’
pressure throughout the five-round title bout. Diaz didn’t
agree with the decision and hinted at retirement in his post-fight
interview with broadcaster Joe Rogan.
The
gate receipts from the Mandalay Bay for UFC 143: Diaz vs. Condit
totaled $2.3 million.
Source: MMA Weekly
|
UFC
143 Bonuses: Werdum, Nelson, Thompson, Poirier Bag $65K
Four fighters walked away from the Mandalay Bay Events Center
in Las Vegas with post-fight bonuses on Saturday night, as Fabricio
Werdum, Roy Nelson, Stephen Thompson and Dustin Poirier each
took home an additional $65,000 at UFC 143.
Thompson
and Poirier were awarded “Knockout of the Night” and
“Submission of the Night,” respectively, while Werdum
and Nelson earned “Fight of the Night” for their three-round
heavyweight affair.
Werdum
dominated Nelson in the early going, showing much-improved standup
and delivering a great deal of damage to the IFL veteran. The
Brazilian locked up a Thai plum on a variety of occasions, blasting
Nelson with knees to the body and face that badly lacerated his
opponent. Though Nelson showed great heart and toughness to survive,
the night belonged to Werdum, as he took home a unanimous decision
after 15 minutes of competition.
A
decorated karate and kickboxing stylist, Thompson made quite
an impression in his UFC debut, leveling fellow Octagon newcomer
Dan Stittgen with a beautiful right round kick to the jaw. Stittgen,
a grappling specialist, had trouble dealing with the kenpo black
belt’s use of distance in the early going. Thompson followed
a one-two punch combination with the sneaky head kick as the
round wore down, turning out Stittgen’s lights at 4:13 of
the opening stanza.
Though
“The Diamond” appeared to struggle with the range of
lanky UFC debutant Max Holloway, Poirier closed the distance
and brought the fight to the floor midway through the opening
frame. While Holloway managed to slide out from under his opponent’s
mount, Poirier locked onto an arm and began to torque, eventually
switching to a triangle choke. The hold cinched in, Poirier rolled
into a mounted triangle and cranked viciously on Holloway’s
exposed arm, forcing the tap.
Source: Sherdog
|
Diaz
Announces Retirement After UFC 143 Loss to Condit
The
former Strikeforce welterweight champion announced his retirement
on Saturday night immediately following a contentious unanimous
decision defeat to Carlos Condit in the main event of UFC 143
at the Mandalay Bay Events Center in Las Vegas.
“I’m
not going to accept the fact that this was a loss. I’ve
lost fights like this before, and I’m not going to accept
those either,” Diaz told UFC commentator Joe Rogan after
the fight. “Carlos is a great guy. I’m happy for him
and his family, but I think I’m done with this MMA. It’s
been great out here. I’ve had a good career. You guys pay
me way too much, but I don’t think I’m going to get
enough to keep going in this. It’s been a good time.”
Diaz
attempted to apply his trademark pressure for much of the bout,
but Condit proved slippery in his standup technique, throwing
a variety of punches and kicks and then spinning away from the
cage to prevent the Californian from unloading with his vaunted
volume punching. Nonetheless, Diaz was the man moving forward
for nearly the entirety of the bout.
“I
don’t need this s---, you know? I pushed this guy backwards
the whole time. He ran from me this whole fight,” said Diaz.
“I landed the harder shots. He kicked me in my leg with
little baby leg kicks the whole fight. If that’s the way
[the judges] understand that you win in here, I don’t want
to play this game no more.”
The
Cesar Gracie disciple managed to grab a hold of Condit in the
final frame, taking the former WEC champion’s back and threatening
with both a rear-naked choke and an armbar. To Condit’s
credit, however, the Arizonan defended both submission attempts
to hear the final bell. When the dust settled, the judges’
scores read 48-47, 49-46 and 49-46 for Condit, making “The
Natural Born Killer” the new UFC interim welterweight champion.
“It
ain’t right. I pushed him back the whole fight. I walked
him down,” said Diaz. “I got the takedown. I’m
the guy who won on top. If I thought I wasn’t ahead, I bet
you anything I would have finished that arm lock.”
Though
Rogan expressed hope that Diaz might reconsider his decision,
the fighter appeared resolute in his choice to hang up his gloves
following the loss.
“I’m
good,” Diaz said. “I’ll help out my team and my
brother and everybody else, but I’m out of this s---.”
Source: Sherdog
|
No
Robbery Here: Carlos Condit Earned Decision Win Over Nick Diaz
Feb
5, 2012 - Judging by Nick Diaz’s reaction to his unanimous
decision loss to Carlos Condit at UFC 143, you’d have thought
he’d just been robbed on live TV. You’d have thought
he’d returned home to find that judge Cecil Peoples had
made off with all his most prized possessions, from his road
bike to his Tupac CDs. You definitely wouldn’t have thought
that he’d merely lost a close decision in a close fight,
though that’s exactly what happened.
"I
don't need this [expletive]," Diaz told Joe Rogan after
the decision was announced. "He ran from me this whole fight.
I landed the harder shots. He kicked me in the leg with little
baby kicks."
Of
course, he said this while sporting a set of facial bruises and
lacerations that told a very different story. You don’t
get that kind of damage at a track meet. Obviously Condit must
have been doing something besides running and baby-kicking. According
to the FightMetric stats, that something was out-working Diaz
with strikes in four of the five rounds, landing a total of 159
strikes to Diaz’s 117.
Granted,
stats don’t always tell the full story with an MMA bout.
Condit did spend a considerable amount of time avoiding Diaz,
or at least ducking out of the way and getting the fight back
to the center of the cage. If you’re of the opinion that
no fighter should ever win a decision while backpedaling -- even
if he’s landing more strikes in the process --- then sure,
you could cry foul over the decision. Just know that you’re
using your own made-up criteria to judge the fight, not the one
that matters.
According
to the unified rules of MMA, judges score bouts based on "effective
striking, effective grappling, control of the fighting area,
effective aggressiveness and defense." Nowhere in there
does it say you can’t back up or circle away. Nowhere does
it say that you have to let a guy like Diaz walk you down and
unload on you against the cage. Condit clearly didn’t want
to get stuck with his back to the fence, where Diaz is most effective,
so he continually brought the fight back to the center, where
he was more effective.
In
other words, Condit fought the smart fight. He also fought the
slightly busier fight, at least according to the numbers. While
it might have looked like Diaz was far more aggressive, if only
because he walked forward in a straight line for most of the
fight, Condit actually threw more strikes (329 to 258, according
to Fight Metric) and landed more significant strikes (151 to
105). You can accuse him of running away if you want, but, like
Diaz, you’d have to ignore the obvious evidence to the contrary,
which plenty of fans are no doubt willing to do.
Maybe
part of the problem here is expectations. Many people (Diaz included,
perhaps) thought this was going to be a brawl. They expected
to see two guys standing toe-to-toe, chopping away at each other
until somebody fell. They didn’t get that fight, even though
Diaz did his best to deliver it, and so they naturally blame
the guy who decided to pursue a game plan rather than the guy
who was unable to adjust to it.
It’s
easy to see why Diaz wanted the kind of flat-footed, close-up
boxing match that he was pressing for all night. He’s good
at that style. He might be better at it than anyone in MMA --
certainly better than Condit. That’s why it only made sense
for Condit to stay on the move, to force Diaz to reset and start
his attack over. And while Diaz was doing that, Condit hit him.
He ducked under hooks, stayed out of range of those long jabs,
and picked his spots.
That’s
not to say it wasn’t a close fight. Several of those rounds
could have gone either way, and don’t believe for a second
that Condit had no doubt about how the judges were going to score
it. Standing there and waiting for Bruce Buffer to get through
the preamble and just spit it out, Condit looked like one of
those alleged fathers on the Maury Povich paternity test show.
He might have been hoping for good news, but that was not the
look of a man who knew for sure what was coming.
That’s
how it goes with close fights. When neither man clearly dominates,
you end up standing there at the end of the night, hoping for
the best. Diaz can complain that Condit didn’t engage in
the kind of fight he wanted, but he can’t say that the guy
didn’t fight. Not with his face looking like that. Not if
he wants anyone to take him seriously.
Source: MMA Fighting
|
UFC
143 Morning After: Carlos Condit Has What It Takes To Beat Georges
St. Pierre
Carlos
Condit showed with his UFC 143 victory over Nick Diaz that he
has what it takes to beat Georges St. Pierre.
Feb
5, 2012 - Georges St. Pierre hasn't lost a fight -- and really
hasn't even been tested -- in four years. That's about to change.
Carlos
Condit, who won the UFC interim welterweight title by beating
Nick Diaz on Saturday night at UFC 143, is going to test St.
Pierre in a way he hasn't been tested in years. The next time
GSP steps into the Octagon, he'll be stepping into the Octagon
with the best opponent he's faced.
We
knew heading into Saturday night how physically tough Condit
was. You don't win 27 professional MMA fights and win four in
a row in the UFC, as Condit already had heading into Saturday
night, without a whole lot of toughness.
What
Condit showed against Diaz is how mentally tough he is. Condit
survived 25 minutes against one of the best welterweights in
the world and never wilted. Condit didn't change his game plan
in the second round when Diaz started to get the better of the
striking exchanges and began openly taunting Condit, as Diaz
so often has to his opponents. And Condit didn't panic and didn't
give in during the final minute of the fight, when Diaz took
him down and took his back. A lot of men -- even a lot of great
fighters -- would have been ready to break by that point. Condit
couldn't be broken.
So
is Condit good enough to beat GSP? As a striker, I believe he's
already better than GSP. And he has a more diverse array of submissions
than GSP as well. The big question is whether Condit's wrestling
and takedown defense will prove to be good enough that he can
stay off his back against St. Pierre. That's a tall order, but
I like Condit's chances.
St.
Pierre is also, of course, coming off a serious knee injury --
the kind of injury that some athletes never fully recover from.
And St. Pierre will be battling ring rust when he fights Condit:
By the time he's ready to step into the Octagon in November,
he'll have been off for a year and a half. St. Pierre is also
three years older than Condit. Those are all factors that favor
Condit.
GSP
will be the betting favorite heading into that fight, but Condit
has a very good chance to win it. When Condit beat Diaz on Saturday
night, we may have seen the man who has what it takes to beat
GSP.
--
Fabricio Werdum showed off some great muay Thai in his victory
over Roy Nelson. Werdum's stand-up has looked ugly in a couple
of bad losses to the two best heavyweights in the world, Junior
dos Santos and Alistair Overeem, but make no mistake: He's a
very good striker in addition to being the best heavyweight grappler
in all of MMA.
--
Matt Riddle's split decision victory over Henry Martinez gives
him a respectable UFC record of 6-3, but let's be honest: Riddle
is not a very good fighter. He barely got by Martinez, an undersized
opponent who took the fight on short notice, and Riddle's other
UFC wins are over DeMarques Johnson, Greg Soto, Dan Cramer, Steve
Bruno and Dante Rivera. Not exactly a murderer's row.
--
When the 20-year-old Max Holloway stepped into the Octagon with
the 23-year-old Dustin Poirier, we got a great look at the future
of the featherweight division. Poirier put on a tremendous display
on the ground in forcing Holloway to tap out to an arm bar from
a mounted triangle, but give Holloway credit for the way he tested
Poirier on the feet at the start of the fight. Poirier is a future
featherweight title contender, and with work on his ground game
Holloway could be too.
--
The UFC's new pay-per-view opening is an improvement over the
old gladiator opening, but I still think there should be a fresh
new opening with each show and the focus should immediately be
on that night's main event fighters.
UFC
143 Quotes
"I
know I'm the most hated man in MMA." -- Josh Koscheck, egging
on the fans after they booed him following his split decision
win over Mike Pierce.
"Don't
fall for it when he's talking to you."--Greg Jackson telling
Carlos Condit not to get sucked into Nick Diaz's style of fight.
Jackson's advice was wise; it came after the second round, when
Diaz was taunting Condit and trying to bait him into a brawl,
but from the third round on Condit seemed comfortable and ready
to fight his fight.
"Those
lead leg round kicks -- we work them a lot in karate -- people
don't see them." -- Stephen Thompson, after knocking out
Dan Stittgen on the first fight of the night. Thompson was right:
Stittgen certainly didn't see that kick coming. Thompson is an
exciting new fighter for the UFC.
Good
Call
Referee
Kim Winslow stepped in at just the right time to stop the fight
in Matt Brown's technical knockout victory over Chris Cope. After
Brown knocked Cope down, Winslow gave Cope a chance to protect
himself on the ground before stepping in to stop the fight when
Brown landed two more punches that Cope couldn't answer. Stopping
the fight immediately when Brown knocked Cope down would have
been too quick because Cope was still conscious and trying to
get into a better position. Stopping it any later would have
subjected Cope to too much punishment. Winslow's stoppage was
perfect.
Bad
Call
I
disagreed with referee Herb Dean taking two points away from
Alex "Bruce Leroy" Caceres after his second low blow
of the fight. Warning Caceres for the first low blow was the
right call, but the second low blow should have only resulted
in one point being deducted, not two. A two-point deduction would
have been appropriate for an intentional low blow, but both of
Caceres's kicks appeared to be accidental low blows. The judges
gave the fight to Edwin Figueroa by split decision, 28-27, 28-27
and 27-28, which means that if Dean had only deducted one point
instead of two, it would have been a majority draw.
Later
in the same card, Dean again faced a situation where he warned
a fighter about a foul and then that fighter committed the very
same foul he had been warned about: Dean warned Josh Koscheck
to keep his fingers away from Mike Pierce's eyes, and then Koscheck
poked Pierce in the eye after that warning. But this time Dean
only warned Koscheck again instead of taking even one point away,
let alone deducting two points.
Stock
Up
When
Ed Herman lost three of four fights in 2008 and 2009 and then
missed nearly two years with a knee injury, it was reasonable
to wonder if his career might be coming to an end. Instead, Herman's
stock has shot up with three straight wins since returning from
that knee injury, and he looked great on Saturday night. Herman
is fighting as well as he ever has.
Stock
Down
Michael
Kuiper entered UFC 143 as a well-regarded prospect with an 11-0
record, but he wasn't ready for an opponent on the level of Rafael
Natal, who beat him by unanimous decision. Kuiper is only 22
years old and may have a good future in the UFC, but he's not
there yet.
Fight
I Want To See Next
Carlos
Condit vs. Georges St. Pierre. This is going to be fun.
Source: MMA Fighting
|
UFC
143 Results: Josh Koscheck Survives Battle with Mike Pierce
Love
him or hate him, Josh Koscheck is a winner, but he had his hands
full with Mike Pierce at UFC 143 on Saturday night.
A
tough opponent for anyone, Mike Pierce called out Koscheck and
asked the brass at the UFC to give him a shot at the former ‘Ultimate
Fighter’ season 1 competitor.
His
wish was granted and he showed up in a big way when he met Koscheck
in the Octagon.
Pierce
established a stiff jab as soon as the fight started, paying
attention to Koscheck’s past fights with Georges St-Pierre
and Matt Hughes, who gave him trouble with the straight punch.
It
took time for Koscheck to get his bearings back, but he did a
good job of moving to the side and looking for the takedown to
throw Pierce off his game. When he commits to it, Koscheck still
has one of the quickest and most effective double leg takedowns
in the game, and it worked to his favor against Pierce.
What
came back to bite Koscheck a couple of times however is his propensity
to put his lead hand out to judge for distance, but because he
leaves his hand open, he repeatedly poked Pierce in the eye.
After
a couple instances, referee Herb Dean warned him to stop it or
he was going to lose points. Lucky for Koscheck, it was deep
into the third round by that point and it didn’t end up
costing him anything.
A
close fight throughout, the judges were just as indecisive about
a winner. Two judges gave Koscheck the nod, while the third gave
Pierce the win. It only takes two however and Josh Koscheck was
given the win by split decision.
As
the scores were read, a rain of boos fell down upon Koscheck
from the Las Vegas crowd. He responded with a middle finger of
his own, and invited the crowd to boo him all they wanted.
“You
guys boo me all the time, I’m the most hated guy in MMA.
Guess what? Deal with it. I win, I find a way to win,” said
Koscheck.
Fighting
Mike Pierce may not have been the match-up that Koscheck was
looking for, but he definitely had his hands full.
“Mike
Pierce is a tough guy. I knew that coming into this fight,”
Koscheck said.
Koscheck
is now 2-0 since returning from the orbital injury suffered in
his title fight against Georges St-Pierre in 2010. With the Canadian
sidelined until late 2012, Koscheck may be able to get back into
the title hunt after the fight between Nick Diaz and Carlos Condit.
Source: MMA Weekly
|
Matches
to Make After UFC 143
In
October, Ultimate Fighting Championship officials told Carlos
Condit to step aside for Nick Diaz. Four months later, he answered
with his feet, fists, elbows, knees and, most importantly, his
mind.
The
“Natural Born Killer” engaged in a fascinating cat-and-mouse
game with one of MMA’s fiercest fighters on Saturday at
the Mandalay Bay Events Center in Las Vegas, as he walked away
from the UFC 143 headliner against Diaz with a unanimous decision
in his back pocket and the interim welterweight championship
around his waist.
Rewarding
the execution of a masterful game plan, all three judges ruled
in Condit’s favor, two of them giving him four of the five
rounds. According to FightMetric.com figures, he outlanded Diaz
159-117 in total strikes and 151-105 in terms of significant
strikes. Though he spent much of the 25-minute battle moving
backwards, Condit was the more active fighter, as well, throwing
74 more strikes than Diaz.
The
win, Condit’s 13th in his past 14 fights, sets up a unification
bout with longtime welterweight king and Jackson’s Mixed
Martial Arts stablemate Georges St. Pierre, once he recovers
from reconstructive knee surgery. The two men figure to lock
horns sometime later this year.
In
wake of UFC 143 “Diaz vs. Condit,” here are six other
matches we want to see made:
Nick
Diaz vs. Jon Fitch: In the immediate aftermath of his first defeat
since November 2007, Diaz sounded like a man fully prepared to
leave the cage for the last time. One has to wonder whether or
not that feeling will remain once frustration wears off. Still
only 28, Diaz has plenty left in the tank physically and would
be entering his prime years with much to prove and sufficient
motivation. Should Diaz reverse course on retirement, a showdown
with Fitch might provide him with the quickest route back to
title contention. If not, MMA has lost one of its preeminent
competitors.
Werdum
put a beating on Nelson.
Fabricio Werdum vs. Frank Mir: Quite simply, Werdum has never
looked better. The two-time Abu Dhabi Combat Club Submission
Wrestling World Championships gold medalist throttled the rugged
Roy Nelson from the Thai plum, landing one crushing knee after
another to his opponent’s face. Werdum’s punches and
kicks often found their marks, too, and kept “The Ultimate
Fighter” Season 10 winner on the defensive. Werdum has rattled
of four wins in five outings, including victories over Antonio
Silva and the incomparable Fedor Emelianenko. Still widely regarded
as one of the premier heavyweight grapplers on the planet, the
34-year-old Brazilian has put himself in prime position to secure
more meaningful fights. Mir, anyone?
Roy
Nelson vs. Shane Carwin: No one will ever question Nelson’s
resolve. The slimmed-down 35-year-old absorbed a horrendous beating
from Werdum in the co-main event, losing a one-sided unanimous
decision.
Nelson
had no answer for the Brazilian in the clinch, as Werdum tipped
the spear of his close-quarters onslaught with heavy knees from
the Thai plum. Nelson has more than enough tools to remain relevant
in a division lacking depth, but he has lost three of his last
four fights. Victory now becomes a necessity. Carwin, who finds
himself recovering from a second back surgery, carries with him
arguably the heaviest hands in the sport. A duel with Nelson
might prove pure gold, if for no other reason than to find out
whether or not “Big Country” can withstand that kind
of otherworldly punching power.
Josh
Koscheck vs. Jake Shields-Yoshihiro Akiyama winner: Koscheck
escaped his grueling 15-minute encounter with the criminally
underrated Mike Pierce, taking a split decision from the former
Sportfight champion. Love him or hate him, Koscheck has made
himself into one of the most successful fighters in UFC history.
His 15 victories inside the Octagon tie him with Tito Ortiz for
fifth on the all-time list, behind only Matt Hughes (18), Georges
St. Pierre (16), Chuck Liddell (16) and Randy Couture (16). Koscheck
looked tentative at times against Pierce, but he can always fall
back on his top-shelf wrestling chops when the need arises. UFC
President Dane White has already shown public interest in pairing
him with Diaz. Should that bout fail to materialize, perhaps
the man that emerges from the Shields-Akiyama tussle at UFC 144
later this month could step up and fill the void.
Renan
“Barao” Pegado vs. Dominick Cruz-Urijah Faber winner:
Pegado needs no more fine tuning. On an incredible 18-fight winning
streak, the 24-year-old Nova Uniao export has clearly established
himself as a top contender at 135 pounds. Pegado zipped past
Scott Jorgensen with a diverse striking game, stout chin and
airtight takedown defense. In short, he kept the fight standing,
all but ensuring Jorgensen’s downfall. Coaching opposite
one another on the forthcoming season of “The Ultimate Fighter”
reality series, bantamweight champion Cruz and archrival Faber
will tie a bow on their trilogy at some point this summer. The
man they call “Barao” will be waiting on the winner.
Ed
Herman vs. Brian Stann-Alessio Sakara winner: Herman has carved
out a nice niche at 185 pounds. “The Ultimate Fighter”
Season 3 finalist dispatched the previously unbeaten Clifford
Starks with a combination of in-cage experience and submission
savvy. Herman has won each of his last three fights, bouncing
back well from multiple knee surgeries. The 31-year-old will
not set the world on fire with any one skill, but he promises
to be a difficult out for anyone inside the middleweight division
with stars in their eyes. Stann and Sakara will collide at UFC
on Fuel 2 on April 14 in Sweden. Pair the victor with Herman.
Source: Sherdog
|
Condit
on UFC 143 Victory: Diaz Was Talking, I Was Landing Punches
Carlos Condit earned the biggest win of his career on Saturday
night, outpointing former Strikeforce titlist Nick Diaz to capture
the UFC interim welterweight championship at UFC 143.
Condit
used a sharp, varied counter attack, deftly maneuvering out of
harm’s way continually during the five-round main event
at the Mandalay Bay Events Center in Las Vegas.
Though
Diaz attempted to bait Condit into exchanges, “The Natural
Born Killer” did not oblige the Californian, instead sticking
to his game plan. Diaz continually moved forward and taunted
the former WEC king, but Condit paid him no mind and continued
to score with counter attacks.
“He
was talking. I was landing punches,” Condit told UFC.com
after his title-winning performance. “I think I was winning.
No matter how much he talked, I was hitting hard and I was hitting
him solid. That’s what I came here to do. I didn’t
come here to talk.”
Condit’s
game plan appeared to contain two main strategies. First, use
movement to avoid standing in front of Diaz, who is known for
his deadly combination punching and work rate. Second, execute
isolated strikes at opportune times to prevent Diaz from finding
his range and rhythm.
In
that vein, Condit continually found a home for his leg kick.
While it was unclear how much actual damage was being done to
Diaz’s lead appendage, the maneuver served its purpose by
both disrupting Diaz’s typically suffocating offense and
scoring points with the judges.
“From
the very beginning, I broke that leg down, man,” said Condit.
“I chopped his leg, so even if he had the cardio, he wouldn’t
have the wheels.”
Up
next for the Jackson’s MMA representative is a showdown
with part-time teammate and previously undisputed UFC welterweight
champion Georges St. Pierre, who was sidelined in December with
a torn ACL.
“[This
win] is huge. This is just another step toward my ultimate goal
of being among the best mixed martial artists in the world,”
said Condit. “I’ve got a lot of work to do and a lot
more improvements to make. Georges is a true champion, and he’s
the best in the world.”
In
victory, Condit becomes the first man besides St. Pierre to wear
UFC welterweight gold in the last four years. Following his emotional
win, the Arizonan thanked the followers who helped him reach
the pinnacle of his career to-date.
“I
have the best fans in the world. I get so much support and respect
from people all over the world who I don’t even know,”
said Condit. “I want you guys to know how much it f---ing
means to me. This isn’t always fun, and it’s not always
easy, but hearing from fans and getting support from you guys
gives me motivation.”
Source: Sherdog
|
UFC
143 Results: Condit Wins Interim Title; Diaz Hints at Retirement
“All
men can see these tactics whereby I conquer, but what none can
see is the strategy out of which victory is evolved” ~ Sun
Tzu
The
path to victory is never an easy one, especially in title fights
in the UFC.
For
Carlos Condit the road to his first UFC welterweight title was
paved with more than a few bumps in the road, a couple of detours
and he may have even hit a brick wall on more than one occasion.
At
UFC 143 however, Condit realized his dream by capturing the interim
UFC welterweight title by defeating Nick Diaz by unanimous decision,
and now awaits his shot at Georges St-Pierre.
It
was clear from the opening of the fight that coaches Greg Jackson
and Mike Winkeljohn had instilled the perfect winning strategy
for Condit to capture the gold. Stay on the outside, use his
kicks to set up bigger strikes, and do not stand in front of
Nick Diaz.
The
game plan played out to perfection.
A
frustrated Diaz, who normally can corner any opponent against
the cage and just unload his barrage of strikes to the head and
body, could not put together any kind of combination because
by the time he threw the second or third punch, Condit was gone.
Condit
fired back with leg kicks all night lock, battering Diaz’s
lead leg, and he swung a series of spinning back fists, although
most only glanced and never landed clean.
What
it did do however is make Diaz respect the power of Condit and
as the fight wore on, the former WEC champion gained confidence.
“A
lot of my other fights I kind of came out strong towards the
later rounds, when it went to later rounds, and I started to
find my flow,” Condit said. “Hats off to Nick Diaz,
he’s a warrior. Nothing but admiration and respect for how
he fights.”
Condit
continuously mixed up his kicks with punches, landing shots over
the top and then tossing a quick body or head kick to keep Diaz
from being able to put any combinations together.
Diaz
kept stalking forward throughout the fight, but just could not
keep the speedier Condit from disappearing before he could land
anything with damage. The real story of the fight may have come
at three separate occasions where Diaz looked for the takedown
on Condit, which is a rare moment for the Stockton, Calif. native.
The
final round saw Diaz come the closest he got to finishing the
fight after dragging Condit to the mat and taking his back. Diaz
tried hard to get a rear naked choke or set up for an armbar,
but the crafty veteran of more than 30 fights wasn’t going
to fall into his traps and the fight came to a close.
As
the judges scorecards were read it was a clean sweep and unanimous
decision for the new UFC interim welterweight champion, Carlos
Condit.
“It’s
pretty surreal,” Condit said as the title belt was wrapped
around his waist. “I couldn’t have done it without
my coaches and teammates, they prepared me for this fight. I
did what they told me to do and I walked away with a victory.”
One
of the biggest keys to the fight and victory for Condit beyond
his strategy and elusiveness was his ability to go 25 minutes
with a cardio machine like Diaz.
“My
endurance has always been a strong point, it’s always been
a part of my game. I felt like I could overcome my opponents
and out pace them, and this time I was able to hang with him,”
Condit stated.
Following
the loss, Nick Diaz was congratulatory of Carlos Condit on the
win, but also took shots at his game plan and strategy. In the
middle of that, Diaz essentially said that if that’s the
way the scoring in MMA works, he’s walking away.
“I’m
not going to accept the fact that this was a loss. That ain’t
right, I pushed him back the whole fight, I walked him down I
got the takedown. I won on top. Carlos is a great guy, I’m
happy for him and his family. I think I’m done with this
MMA, it’s been great out here, I’ve had a good career,
you guys pay me way too much, but I don’t think I’m
going to keep going in this. It’s been a good time. Good
job Carlos, you’re the man bro,” said Diaz.
“I
don’t need this shit. I pushed this guy backwards the whole
time, he ran from me the whole fight. I landed the harder shots,
he ran the whole time, he kicked me in my leg with little baby
leg kicks the whole fight. That’s the way they understand
how to win here, I don’t want to play this game no more.”
The
heat of the moment always counts for something so it’s unlike
that Diaz is actually going to retire from MMA but then again
he’s always walked to the beat of his own drum. Nothing
is surprising when it comes to Nick Diaz.
As
for Carlos Condit, the new UFC welterweight champion will now
look to unify the belt with Georges St-Pierre later this year.
From all accounts on Saturday night, it appears Condit is going
to face St-Pierre next without another opponent getting the first
crack at his belt, but only time will tell if that actually comes
true or not.
“It
is an honor,” Condit said about facing St-Pierre. “Georges
is a guy that I’ve looked up to since I was a young guy
before I was in the UFC, and it’s an honor to compete on
this stage with guys like Nick Diaz, with guys like Georges St-Pierre.
That’s all I can say, I’m completely honored.”
Source: MMA Weekly |
Renan
Barao wants a title shot, reveals he was sick 15 days before
UFC 143
Renan
Barão wrote another victory to his professional record
as he overcame the tough Scott Jorgensen at UFC 143, in Las Vegas,
and talked to TATAME TV right after leaving the cage, and revealed
he almost gave it up on fighting because he was feeling ill 15
days before the event. “I thought about giving it up, but
I’ve talked to Andre I had an appointment in the UFC and
that I would fight”, tells Renan, who also commented on
his game plan coming into UFC’s octagon, answering Dominick
Cruz’s statements to TATAME Magazine. Check it:
How
was the feeling of winning one of the most important bouts of
your entire career?
It
was really great, I trained a lot. I was kinda sick like 15 days
before the fight. My throat was aching, I was kinda feverish,
I thought about giving it up, but I’ve talked to Andre (Pederneiras)
I had an appointment in the UFC and that I would fight. Andre
trusted me and thank God it worked out.
That
was the game plan set for this fight?
Yeah.
In the beginning I wasn’t doing it correctly, but then I
started following the game plan set by Pederneiras, that included
moving to my right and using my legs to counterattack. God blessed
me and everything worked out just fine once again.
Dominick
Cruz said, on a previous interview, that you might meet sooner
of later. How do you feel about that?
I’m
really happy he said that. It’ll be awesome fighting him,
and not because I want to fight him, but because he is the champion
and I wanna fight the champion, have a chance at the title and
that’s it. I’m really happy. It’s great happiness.
God’ been pretty kind to me, and not only today, but in
my entire life and it’s all good.
Send
a message for your fans in Brazil who cheered for you.
Thank
you everybody who helped me. I’d like to send my love to
my team Nova Uniao in Natal, all the guys there, we’re together
on this. Also my fans too… I’ll train more and I’ll
try to be better next time and put a great show for you guys
to watch. Thank you.
Source: Tatame
|
Carlos
Condit faced with controversy instead of praise after using perfect
game plan to beat Nick Diaz
LAS
VEGAS – Carlos Condit performed brilliantly under pressure,
stuck to his game plan even under the most extreme conditions,
connected at a higher percentage than Nick Diaz and then proceeded
to get denounced for his extraordinary effort.
Fans
howled their displeasure after Condit’s brilliant tactics
– to circle away from Diaz’s punches and use kicks
to chop his legs – led him to a unanimous decision victory
Saturday in the main event of UFC 143 at the Mandalay Bay Events
Center. The win gave Condit the interim welterweight championship
and earned him a motorcycle as a bonus.
Judges
Patricia Morse Jarman and Cecil Peoples had it 49-46 for Condit,
each giving him all but the third round. Judge Junichiro Kamijo
had it 48-47 for Condit, giving him Rounds 1, 3 and 4. Yahoo!
Sports had it 48-47 for Condit.
It
was a flawless performance in a high-pressure situation, yet
fans protested it because was Diaz moving forward the whole fight.
Condit
said he had no doubt as he was awaiting ring announcer Bruce
Buffer to read the scores that he had won the fight and was shocked
at a suggestion he might not have done so.
“From
my standpoint, being in the cage, I didn’t think it was
all that close,” Condit said at the post-fight news conference.
“I felt I dominated almost every round.”
Part
of the reason for the dissatisfaction with the decision was the
appearance that Condit somehow avoided a battle. Diaz, who said
in the cage he might retire, stalked Condit through the fight,
moving ahead relentlessly and looking to turn the bout into a
toe-to-toe slugfest.
Condit,
though, didn’t run to avoid punishment. He moved laterally
in order to set up his kicks, which he used early and often,
to great effectiveness.
Condit
threw more strikes – kicks and punches – and was more
efficient than Diaz. Condit hit on 146 of 273, according to CompuStrike,
while Diaz hit 110 of 223. Condit had a 53-49 edge in connect
percentage.
Even
UFC president Dana White, who, though he wouldn’t admit
it, had to have been hoping for a Diaz win to set up what would
have been a massive fall showdown with champion Georges St. Pierre,
recognized the effectiveness of Condit’s plan. But he also
knew it would create controversy.
“This
is going to be one of those fights that people are going to score
differently,” said White, who said he gave Diaz the first
two rounds and Condit the final three. “Because of the style
that Condit fought tonight, not the normal style he fights, I
think that made it a tough one to score.
“There
is no doubt, and this is my opinion and there is going to be
50 million other opinions, but there is no doubt that Nick won
the first two rounds by moving forward and being the aggressor.
The difference is, he was being the aggressor and throwing tons
of punches that were landing. In the third and fourth, I’m
pretty sure I remember in the fourth him not throwing anything
and he looked frustrated in the fourth.”
St.
Pierre, who conceded he was rooting for Diaz, scored it a draw.
He gave the first two rounds to Diaz, the third and fourth to
Condit and had the fifth round even, thus coming up with a 48-48
verdict.
Condit
was largely overlooked in the fight’s build-up, as fans,
media and promoters worked themselves into a frenzy over the
possibility of a grudge fight between St. Pierre and Diaz.
A
columnist in the Las Vegas Review-Journal went so far Saturday
as to openly root for Condit to lose in order to ensure the St.
Pierre-Diaz match.
Condit,
however, showed the poise of a grizzled veteran who had been
in several similar battles. And, indeed, Condit’s record
is one of the best in the sport. He raised his mark to 28-5 and
now has victories over elite fighters such as Diaz, Rory MacDonald
and Jake Ellenberger, among others.
Though
Diaz was having success early, Condit never considered switching
from the strategy that he and his coaches at Jackson’s MMA
spent weeks perfecting.
“If
I would have fought Diaz’s fight and brawled, I probably
wouldn’t have won the fight,” Condit said. “I
did what my coaches told me to do and I walked away with a win.”
Condit
frustrated Diaz with his movement and his refusal to stand flat-footed
and swap punches. At one point, after Condit had thrown a spinning
back fist, Diaz put his hands down, snarled, and shouted at Condit.
Condit
beamed as he recounted the brief conversation.
“When
I threw the spinning back fist, he goes, ‘We’re throwing
spinning [expletive] now?’ ” Condit said, chuckling.
“I had to smile at that one. I told him, ‘Yep. Yes
I am.’ I planned for that. I knew I had to be mentally prepared,
as well as physically prepared, to fight Nick Diaz. He’s
a tough guy.”
The
fact that Condit prepared for any eventuality, devised a brilliant
plan, and pulled it off, should be highly praised.
Yet,
Condit is taking all sorts of criticism for his winning effort.
No
matter what, though, Condit got to go to sleep with the championship
belt on Saturday and he’s the one with a lucrative bout
against St. Pierre looming.
I’m
just guessing, but I suspect he’d take that rather than
to have lost and been universally praised.
Source: Yahoo Sports
|
UFC
143: ‘Diaz vs. Condit’ Results and Play-by-Play
Saturday,
February 04, 2012
Mandalay Bay Events Center in Las Vegas, NV
Daniel
Stittgen vs. Stephen Thompson
Round
1
Thompson stands orthodox with his hands by his waist, flicking
kicks to Stittgen’s legs and midsection. “Wonderboy”
switches back forth to southpaw, keeping his distance. Stittgen
tries a few leg kicks of his own and covers up when Thompson
wades in with punches. Stittgen bull-rushes, trying to clinch,
but Thompson rebuffs him. Stittgen’s strikes aren’t
even coming close and Thompson continues to rack up the precise
but non-damaging strikes through the middle of the frame. Thompson
stuffs a couple straight punches in Stittgen’s face and
then goes to the head with a right high kick. It lands smack
on Stittgen’s face and he falls to the mat in a heap. Josh
Rosenthal jumps in to save the unconscious Stittgen at 4:13 of
the opening round, a beautiful knockout win for Stephen Thompson
in his UFC debut.
Rafael
Natal vs. Michael Kuiper
Round
1
An early clinch yields nothing but the next takedown try from
Natal scores a takedown. Kuiper hops right back up and moves
the fight to the fence. Natal gets another takedown along the
fence and tries to posture up, but Kuiper doesn't let him get
any offense off, and gets back to his feet. Kuiper again pushes
Natal against the fence, but can't find a throw or strikes. When
they separate, Kuiper chases, and gets taken down with another
double-leg, as Natal trips his foot after the shot and sets up
once more in half guard. When Natal looks to pass, Kuiper sweeps
to top position. Natal looks for a quick armbar, but the Dutchman
yanks his arm out, and tries to pound aay from full guard. Natal
keeps looking for the armbar, pinning Kuiper's arm to his chest.
He throws his hips for the submission and Kuiper rolls, taking
a tough few seconds to extricate his arm. He yanks out and regains
his feet, whizzing a head kick by the Brazilian before the horn.
Jordan
Breen scores the round 10-9 Natal
Freddie DeFreitas scores the round 10-9 Natal
Chris Nelson scores the round 10-9 Natal
Round
2
Kuiper connects with a kick to the leg of Natal, then a hard
one to the body. Natal is throwing wide punches, trying to get
inside for a takedown, but it's not coming this time. Kuiper
has the outside position on the fence, working some dirty boxing,
but Natal comes through with a couple hard shots. Natal gets
the outside now and looks to go low for a double-leg, backs away
and slugs Kuiper with a pair of hard shots. Kuiper pushes Natal
away and moves him off further with a front kick. Natal swings
some wide rights which connect, but the punches are coming slower
and slower as his mouth hangs open. A double-leg attempt fails
for Natal and he winds up pushing Kuiper on the cage. He gets
the takedown with about 20 seconds left but doesn’t do anything
with the position.
Jordan
Breen scores the round 10-9 Natal
Freddie DeFreitas scores the round 10-9 Natal
Chris Nelson scores the round 10-9 Natal
Round
3
A big right hand along the cage sends Natal to the ground and
Kuiper rushes to finish. Natal is on his side, his back to the
fence as Kuiper unloads with punches and ref Steve Mazzagatti
hovers nearby. The Brazilian is looking to sweep as he clasps
onto Kuiper’s left leg, but Kuiper kneels down and slugs
more punches to Natal’s head and body. Kuiper postures up,
throws more hammerfists and dives back into Natal’s guard.
Natal swings his legs up and rolls to his feet after a minute
of punishment and brings Kuiper down with a double-leg on the
fence. Kuiper stands up, gets lifted into the air and slammed
down to the mat. Natal lands in side control and works to isolate
Kuiper’s arm for the crucifix. Kuiper defends well and Natal
leans across his body to throw short, horizontal elbows. With
85 seconds to go, Natal hops into full mount. He locks up an
arm-triangle choke and steps off to Kuiper’s left side.
Kuiper is calm, but the choke is deep and Natal has more than
30 seconds left to finish. Natal keeps wrenching with Mazzagatti
watching closely, but Kuiper survives to hear the final horn.
Jordan
Breen scores the round 10-9 Kuiper (29-28 Natal)
Freddie DeFreitas scores the round 10-9 Natal (30-27 Natal)
Chris Nelson scores the round 10-9 Kuiper (29-28 Natal)
Official
result: The scorecards read 30-27, 30-27 and 29-28, all for the
winner by unanimous decision, Rafael “Sapo” Natal.
Matt
Riddle vs. Henry Martinez
Round
1
The southpaws touch gloves and line up, and it’s Martinez
swinging first on the taller man. Martinez backs Riddle into
the cage but has his punches go off the “TUF” alum’s
arms. Martinez’s punches are beginning to get through, countering
kicks with big right hands up top. Riddle throws a long jab to
the body, but he wanders into the pocket and eats another pair
of shots. Another right crashes into Riddle’s cheek, which
is already reddened with two minutes left in the first frame.
Riddle tries a knee from the Thai plum and Martinez finishes
the round with another combo.
Jordan
Breen scores the round 10-9 Martinez
Freddie DeFreitas scores the round 10-9 Martinez
Chris Nelson scores the round 10-9 Martinez
Round
2
Martinez is sticking to the theme of the first round in the early
part of the second, waiting for Riddle to lob punches and kicks,
then flurrying with quick three-punch combos. Martinez scores
with a hard left, ducks a high kick and gets a rear waistlock.
Nothing comes of the tie-up and they go back to throwing. Riddle
thuds a couple left kicks to Martinez’s body and eats some
right-hand counters in return. Riddle finishes strong with a
three-punch combo, a kick to the body. He unloads with aggressive
punches and the welterweights slap hands at the horn.
Jordan
Breen scores the round 10-9 Martinez
Freddie DeFreitas scores the round 10-9 Martinez
Chris Nelson scores the round 10-9 Martinez
Round
3
Riddle lands a kick to Martinez’s body, but Martinez gets
the better of the early exchange with some more corking overhand
punches. Martinez stands stock-still, waiting to counter and
leaving himself open to further body kicks. Martinez is showing
wear on the bridge of his nose as he walks forward, trying to
close the gap on Riddle, who’s still racking up the leg
and body kicks. Martinez lands a solid left counter but is spun
to the ground soon after via single-leg. Martinez gives up his
back and kneels, and Riddle hops right on, quickly sinking in
both hooks. Riddle’s riding high, elbowing to the side of
Martinez’s head as he tries to hang on. He can’t and
Martinez stands up, facing the cage, allowing Riddle to get off
a high kick. Another takedown goes for Riddle with 90 seconds
left and Martinez pulls rubber guard as he’s scooted into
the fence. Closed guard now for Martinez; Riddle pins his man’s
head down with his right arm and slugs away with his left. Riddle
keeps the pressure on with hard elbows and punches to the horn.
Jordan
Breen scores the round 10-9 Riddle (29-28 Martinez)
Freddie DeFreitas scores the round 10-9 Riddle (29-28 Martinez)
Chris Nelson scores the round 10-9 Riddle (29-28 Martinez)
Official
result: One judge has it 29-28 Martinez, while another sides
with Riddle, 29-28. The final and deciding judge sees the bout
29-28 for the winner by split decision, Matt Riddle.
Chris
Cope vs. Matt Brown
Round
1
Cope works the clinch on the fence with dirty boxing until Brown
exits with a knee. Cope backs him off with punches but Brown
gets a takedown along the fence. Cope pops back up and gets pushed
into the cage with Brown looking for knees inside. Cope reverses
and the welterweights fight inside until Brown drops down for
a single-leg. He hoists the leg into the air and trips the other;
as Cope stands back up, Brown lands a solid knee. Cope is swinging
wide on his punches and Brown works a few low kicks. Cope answers
with a leg kicks of his own; Brown finishes off with a pair of
clean right hands.
Jordan
Breen scores the round 10-9 Brown
Freddie DeFreitas scores the round 10-9 Brown
Chris Nelson scores the round 10-9 Brown
Round
2
Brown comes in with an overhand right and lands a kick to the
body. Cope tries some kicks of his own, has his head snapped
back with a punch. Brown is walking forward, swinging hands at
Cope, who backpedals and snaps off counter-shots. Brown misses
a jab but catches Cope with the follow-up right hand behind the
ear. A left hook sends Cope to the floor and Brown lands a couple
more punches on the floor before referee Kim Winslow steps in
to save the dazed Cope. The official time of the TKO stoppage
is 1:19 of round two.
Alex
Caceres vs. Edwin Figueroa
Round
1
Figueroa flicks out a jab while the southpaw Caceres goes low
and high with kicks. A left hand rattles Figueroa’s head,
and the next one puts him on his rear. He hops right back up
and, seconds later, catches a Caceres low kick square on the
cup. Figueroa writhes in pain on the mat, rolling over to the
fence as referee Herb Dean calls a break in the action. Figueroa
is still on the mat a minute later, but after two, he’s
back on his feet. They resume and Caceres goes back to kicking,
but he’s felled a minute later by a Figueroa head kick.
Caceres seems to come to as he hits the ground and stays alive
as Figueroa pounces and tries to finish. Caceres recovers and
nearly secures Figueroa’s back on the floor. Figueroa escapes
and stands, but “Bruce Leeroy” hops on his back again
and rides him down. Caceres works a neck crank with a body triangle,
can’t get it and gets rolled over. He loses back mount,
regains it and goes for another neck crank. Again, Figueroa defends;
he staves off two more rear-naked choke attempts at the end of
the round.
Jordan
Breen scores the round 10-9 Caceres
Freddie DeFreitas scores the round 10-10
Chris Nelson scores the round 10-9 Caceres
Round
2
Caceres goes back to landing effective kicks to the leg and body,
and Figueroa swings punches. Figueroa scores with a solid counter
left, but a moment later, another low kick from Caceres crashes
into Figueroa’s cup. Figueroa hits the deck again, this
time sitting in the middle of the cage with ref Dean watching
over him. When Figueroa is finally ready to resume, Dean deducts
two points from Caceres. They resume and Caceres moves Figueroa
into the fence, blitzing with punches and then giving chase to
the ground. Caceres takes Figueroa’s back again, locks up
a body triangle and works to soften him up with punches. Still
defending the choke, Figueroa twists around and winds up in Caceres’
guard, whereupon Caceres throws up a triangle with an armbar.
Figueroa defends and stands above Caceres to finish the round.
Jordan
Breen scores the round 9-8 Figueroa
Freddie DeFreitas scores the round 9-8 Figueroa
Chris Nelson scores the round 9-8 Figueroa
Round
3
Caceres pushes with front kicks but a windmill right from Figueroa
sends him stumbling backward. Figueroa moves forward, winging
tired arm punches and half-kicks. A turning kick from Caceres
lands in Figueroa’s breadbasket; he responds with one to
Caceres’ leg. Caceres stuffs a straight left in Figueroa’s
face and gets clipped with an overhand right. Caceres knocks
Figueroa down with a low kick and leaps onto his back again as
he tries to stand. Figueroa stays up, pushing Caceres’ back
into the cage and defending the RNC again. Caceres can’t
lock up the choke through several attempts and Figueroa dumps
him head-first onto the ground. The afro’d one maintains
the back, though, and with 80 seconds left, he peels off for
an armbar. It doesn’t come and the move gives Figueroa the
opportunity to drop ground-and-pound through Caceres’ guard.
Caceres tries to throw up another triangle and Figueroa spins
for a toe hold. Caceres takes Figueroa’s back and drags
him to the mat one more time as time expires.
Jordan
Breen scores the round 10-9 Caceres (28-27 Caceres)
Freddie DeFreitas scores the round 10-9 Caceres (28-28 Draw)
Chris Nelson scores the round 10-9 Caceres (28-27 Caceres)
Official
result: All three judges’ scorecards read 28-27, one for
Caceres and two for Edwin Figueroa, the winner by split decision.
Dustin
Poirier vs. Max Holloway
Round
1
Both featherweights are swinging hard punches early, then Holloway
tries a jumping knee. Poirier fends him off with punches, staying
out of the range of Holloway’s own shots and turning kicks.
Another flying knee from Holloway grazes, but it allows Poirier
to get a hold of the Octagon newcomer. He can’t get the
takedown right away, but the next try has Holloway on his back
with Poirier in full mount. Poirier seems to be sneaking up for
an armbar, then he ties up the right arm of the turning Holloway
and socks him in the face with rights. Holloway tries to push
off the cage and buck loose, but Poirier stays on and takes the
chance on an armbar. It’s deep, but Holloway won’t
tap. Poirier slaps on a triangle from underneath, sweeps to mount
and locks up a nasty straight armbar. Holloway is forced to capitulate
at 3:23 of the first.
Ed
Herman vs. Clifford Starks
Round
1
Herman comes out swinging nasty lead uppercuts; he scores with
a few before Starks gets inside to tie up. He muscles “Short
Fuse” into the cage with an underhook and socks him with
right hands while Herman attacks inside with knees. Herman gets
out of the clinch and sticks a jab in Starks’ face; Starks
counters with a straight right and a jab. Hard right hand from
Starks comes over the top and Herman responds with another uppercut
before he’s pushed into the fence again. They jockey for
position and Herman scores with a nice knee on the break before
going back to uppercuts. Starks feels the punches and doesn’t
want to give Herman any distance, pushing the action onto the
cage once more with two minutes left in the frame. Herman gets
the Thai plum and puts a knee on Starks’ body, followed
by an uppercut. Starks slugs Herman with a wide right, stuffs
a takedown and pushes into the fence. Herman gets the takedown
on second effort and goes to Starks’ half-guard in the middle
of the cage. Starks’ left arm is pinned behind him and Herman
gets off a few solid punches before Starks scrambles up. Now
it’s Starks on top in Herman’s open guard, Herman throwing
from the bottom and then momentarily switching to an armbar.
Starks stifles it and that’s where the round ends.
Jordan
Breen scores the round 10-9 Starks
Freddie DeFreitas scores the round 10-9 Starks
Chris Nelson scores the round 10-9 Starks
Round
2
Starks wallops Herman with a rightties up and puts Herman on
the fence again, but this time Herman gets the trip and puts
the fight on the floor. He’s immediately latched onto Starks’
back, looking for the rear-naked choke. Starks rolls and defends
as ref Josh Rosenthal moves in for a closer look. Herman turns
Starks toward the fence and sinks the choke in, eliciting the
tap at 1:43 of the second round.
Scott
Jorgensen vs. Renan Barao
Round
1
Barao leads off with some cracking leg kicks, then sidesteps
a single-leg grab. Now the leg kicks go to the outside of Jorgensen’s
leg, then a stiff jab to the fence. A spinning kick to the body
sends Jorgensen stumbling back into the cage and Barao rushes
him. Jorgensen looks for a takedown in the tie-up, but Barao
stays on his feet with great balance. Another jab goes through
for Barao, a leg kick, a push kick to the chest. Jorgensen grazes
over the top with a right, but he’s being kept at bay by
Barao’s jab. Jorgensen comes inside to clinch, gets turned
into the fence and Barao splits off. Jorgensen pumps his jab,
throws an inside thigh kick of his own. Barao’s jab is looking
stronger, though, as are his leg kicks. Barao is focusing on
straight punches and hard kicks to the outside of Jorgensen’s
left thigh. Jorgensen comes inside with an underhook and is turned
into the fence again. They trade short knees inside before breaking
with 40 ticks left. Barao grazes Jorgensen’s head with a
spinning kick and stuffs a couple more punches in the face of
“Young Guns” before the end of the frame.
Jordan
Breen scores the round 10-9 Barao
Freddie DeFreitas scores the round 10-9 Barao
Chris Nelson scores the round 10-9 Barao
Round
2
Jorgensen dives for a double-leg and gets stuffed before Barao
resumes his jabbing. The punches are hard and are followed by
a couple hard, straight rights. Jorgensen is moving around the
outside, looking to stay out of the range of Barao’s shots,
to no avail: a series of jabs leads to a turning kick in Jorgensen’s
gut. Jorgensen ties up and pulls guard this time, and Barao quickly
moves to half-guard on Jorgensen’s left side. Jorgensen
turns to isolate Barao’s right arm, finds nothing and goes
to his back again, closing up guard. Barao stays heavy on top,
working to pass and dropping intermittent, ineffectual punches
to the body. Jorgensen posts and gets to his feet with just over
90 seconds left. He puts a left on Barao’s temple, has a
high kick blocked. A right hand gets through for Jorgensen while
Barao misses with a couple combinations. Jorgensen’s jumping
round kick is blocked, but he finds something with a follow-up
left hand. Barao is really swinging wild as the round closes,
his nose bloodied up from the late punches of Jorgensen.
Jordan
Breen scores the round 10-9 Barao
Freddie DeFreitas scores the round 10-9 Barao
Chris Nelson scores the round 10-9 Barao
Round
3
The punching exchanges in the early part of round three are more
even, though Barao still takes the edge with a few leg kicks
mixed in and a hard combo after about 60 seconds. Jorgensen connects
with a straight right, but whiffs and spins himself around with
the follow-up left. A punch from Barao has Jorgensen staggering,
though he appeared more off-balance than hurt. Barao connects
with a turning high kick and backs off as Jorgensen comes in
with punches, trying to keep him at bay with a teep kick. Jorgensen
lands a straight right and slips one from Barao, then dodges
an overhand shot. The next leg kick from Barao is checked and
Jorgensen stuffs a hand in his face before dancing out of the
way of some punches. Now Barao is getting some power behind his
leg kicks, landing two hard strikes which Jorgensen doesn’t
check. They’re throwing hands right down to the last horn,
Barao landing the last meaningful shot with a right hand.
Jordan
Breen scores the round 10-9 Barao (30-27 Barao)
Freddie DeFreitas scores the round 10-9 Barao (30-27 Barao)
Chris Nelson scores the round 10-9 Barao (30-27 Barao)
Official
result: All three judges score the bout 30-27 for the winner
by unanimous decision, Renan Barao.
Josh
Koscheck vs. Mike Pierce
Round
1
Pierce backs Koscheck into the cage and drops for a single. Instead,
he settles for an underhook, throwing knees and punches up the
middle while Koscheck maintains his balance. Koscheck tries to
circle out and escape, but Pierce has him pinned and now works
a few foot stomps. Pierce is just leaning his weight onto Koscheck
as boos begin to sprinkle down about 90 seconds in. Right on
cue, the welterweights split and Pierce lands a solid punch on
his way out. Thirty seconds later, they’re back to the fence,
clinching and jockeying for position. Koscheck motions to ref
Herb Dean that Pierce is grabbing his trunks and Dean verbally
warns Pierce. They’re back to exchanging, though the punches
are sparse, Pierce looking to stick his jab and Koscheck looking
for big punches. They trade hard rights before settling down
again, allowing Pierce to score with a pair of jabs on the outside.
Pierce is getting off first with his punches, but the right hand
of Koscheck is constantly cocked and ready to counter. Pierce
ties up again with 20 seconds left and pushes Koscheck onto the
cage for the remainder of the round.
Jordan
Breen scores the round 10-9 Pierce
Freddie DeFreitas scores the round 10-9 Pierce
Chris Nelson scores the round 10-9 Pierce
Round
2
Pierce lays a nice counter right on Koscheck’s cheek and
rushes in for a single-leg behind it. Koscheck defends, hopping
over to the fence, where they trade punches inside. Koscheck
reverses the position and they step away from the cage, Pierce
landing a solid one-two as they disengage. He pumps the jab again
and ducks a tie-up attempt from Koscheck to deliver another.
Pierce is oozing blood from his hairline, a red stain quickly
coating the right side of his face. Pierce pushes his man into
the fence, where Koscheck connects with a knee up the middle.
Ref Dean steps in to pause the action and warn Koscheck to mind
his fingers on probing punches. They resume and Koscheck, bleeding
from the nose, soon after shoots a double, bringing Pierce down
at the base of the fence with relative ease. Pierce is trying
to post and twist loose as Koscheck looks to take his back. Pierce
stands and scrambles loose, and the round ends without much further
action.
Jordan
Breen scores the round 10-9 Pierce
Freddie DeFreitas scores the round 10-9 Koscheck
Chris Nelson scores the round 10-9 Koscheck
Round
3
Koscheck scores with punches early, but it’s followed quickly
by a Pierce single-leg. This one goes for Pierce’s first
takedown of the bout, but Koscheck is quickly to his feet and
pushing his fellow wrestler against the cage. They walk around
the perimeter as ref Dean urges them repeatedly to work. Koscheck
backs up and puts a left on Pierce, then another. Pierce gets
a collar tie and slugs with a few uppercuts, a knee to the gut.
Pierce moves around the outside, working his jab and following
with a left hook. Another takedown attempt from Koscheck is stuffed,
Pierce throwing a wide base against the cage. Dean again urges
the fighters to get busy and splits them with 90 seconds to go.
Pierce lands a jab but simultaneously catches a finger in his
already swollen left eye. Koscheck is issued another warning
by Dean, but no point is deducted. Pierce recovers quickly and
goes back to jabbing on the outside; he’s now mindful of
the open left hand of Koscheck. Pierce half-shoots a double,
senses a headlock from Koscheck and goes back out. Koscheck blitzes
with 30 seconds to go and hits a double-leg on the fence. He
wraps up the legs of Pierce but doesn’t throw any strikes
from the top. Pierce works back to his feet and finishes the
fight with a spinning elbow in close quarters.
Jordan
Breen scores the round 10-9 Koscheck (29-28 Pierce)
Freddie DeFreitas scores the round 10-9 Koscheck (29-28 Koscheck)
Chris Nelson scores the round 10-9 Pierce (29-28 Pierce)
Official
score: One judge scores the bout 29-28 Pierce, while another
has it 29-28 for Koscheck. The final judge sees it 29-28 for
the winner by split decision, Josh Koscheck.
Fabricio
Werdum vs. Roy Nelson
Round
1
Werdum leads off with a low kick, then backs Nelson off with
a front kick. Nelson comes inside and just slips a knee from
Werdum, but eats the leg kick behind it. Nelson stumbles and
Werdum is on his back in the blink of an eye. They hit the floor
and Werdum is hunting for the rear-naked choke, but Nelson somehow
twists loose and escapes to his feet. Werdum keeps Nelson on
the fence and scores with some big knees to the body, then a
couple up top. Nelson is getting mauled in the clinch and turns
the Brazilian around into the fence, where Nelson slugs with
some no-look lefts. Another pair of knees to the face of Nelson
have Werdum back in control in the clinch, but “Big Country”
regains his composure and turns him around again. Nelson’s
midsection is bruised up already as he tries to control the bigger
man on the outside. Ref Josh Rosenthal splits them up with 1:40
left in the round and he wants the cageside physician to take
a look at Nelson’s bloodied nose. The doc clears him to
continue and Nelson is immediately greeted by Werdum’s knee
when they restart. Werdum backs Nelson off with wide punches,
but Big Country catches a kick and socks Werdum with a big right,
felling the BJJ specialist. Nelson gives chase to the ground
and Werdum throws up an armbar, but Nelson keeps in tight and
defends. They’re back on the feet with 20 seconds left and
Werdum closes out the frame with a kick to the body and another
hard knee.
Jordan
Breen scores the round 10-9 Werdum
Freddie DeFreitas scores the round 10-9 Werdum
Chris Nelson scores the round 10-9 Werdum
Round
2
Werdum slams a hard kick to the outside of Nelson’s thigh
and then drops him with another knee. Nelson’s right back
up, grinning and walking Werdum down. Nelson connects with a
couple flailing rights, but when he gets in the pocket, Werdum
tags him with more vicious knees and kicks. Nelson’s face
is a mess, blood flecked all over his chest as he chases Werdum
around the cage. Werdum’s right hand is finding its mark
on Nelson’s face and guts both. Nelson connects with a right
that appears to hurt Werdum, but Werdum is still throwing back
as Nelson gives chase around the outside. Nelson tries to tie
up just before the horn and grazes with a right hand. Werdum
is looking tired as he leans up against the fence immediately
after the round expires.
Jordan
Breen scores the round 10-9 Werdum
Freddie DeFreitas scores the round 10-9 Werdum
Chris Nelson scores the round 10-9 Werdum
Round
3
Nelson and his bloodstained belly inch toward Werdum, who changes
levels after 30 seconds and rushes for a takedown. Nelson puts
his back on the fence and snares Werdum in a guillotine, but
the choke doesn’t look very tight and Werdum soon breaks
the grip. They go back to throwing and Werdum connects with a
two-piece and another knee before Nelson wraps him up again.
Once they break, Werdum loads up on another pair of rights, another
knee and a stiff jab. Werdum piles up the jabs and then turns
Nelson around with a snapping front kick to the mush. Two minutes
to go and this is looking like a lost cause for Nelson, who keeps
coming forward but can’t lay any substantial strikes on
his bigger foe. Werdum scores with an uppercut and a grazing
high knee, then steps out of the way of a syrupy low kick from
Nelson. A straight right to the body of Nelson connects, but
Big Country is still moving forward at the end.
Jordan
Breen scores the round 10-9 Werdum (30-27 Werdum)
Freddie DeFreitas scores the round 10-9 Werdum (30-27 Werdum)
Chris Nelson scores the round 10-9 Werdum (30-27 Werdum)
Official
result: It’s a clean sweep with three 30-27 scorecards for
Fabricio Werdum, the winner by unanimous decision.
Vacant
UFC Interim Welterweight Championship
Carlos Condit vs. Nick Diaz
Round
1
The welterweights touch foreheads as they’re given final
instructions by ref Steve Mazzagatti, and there’s no touch
of gloves once they begin. Condit fires first with a low kick
outside, then goes inside as Diaz walks him around the outside.
Diaz lobs a combination and Condit circles away; Condit does
the same when Diaz wades inside to clinch. Diaz dodges a lead
uppercut and zaps Condit with a hard left cross. Diaz wants the
fight on the cage but Condit keeps skipping away when they get
close. Condit lays a kick on Diaz’s cheek and hops away
again. Diaz backs Condit down again, but again can only get off
a single punch before the “Natural Born Killer” slides
away. Condit keeps the leg kicks coming to the outside of Diaz’s
right leg. Diaz scores with a low kick and a right hand. Now
Diaz is jawing, throwing up his hands and goading Condit to engage.
Condit tries a spinning strike and Diaz uses the opportunity
to clinch and cores with punches to the body. Diaz backs Condit
down and slugs him one to the body. Diaz folds his arm, then
uncrosses then and puts a one-two on Condit to finish.
Jordan
Breen scores the round 10-9 Condit
Freddie DeFreitas scores the round 10-9 Diaz
Chris Nelson scores the round 10-9 Condit
Round
2
Condit is still playing matador to Diaz’s bull at the start
of the second. Diaz catches a kick but can’t get anything
behind it before Condit bounces away. Condit grazes with a spinning
back-fist that allows Diaz to tie up; again, Condit slips out
and continues circling the outside. Diaz is really talking to
him now, walking straight forward with his hands by his side.
Condit lands a leg kick and Diaz talks some more. A switch kick
lands for Condit, then a knee up the middle. Diaz gets close
enough to land a pair of right hands, followed by a one-two,
followed by Condit dashing away. A big right snaps the head of
Condit, but he quickly answers with kicks to the body. Diaz taunts
him by holding his belly and trudging forward. He gets Condit
against the cage and wails away with four or five punches to
the gut. Condit pumps his jab with 40 seconds left, still moving
backward. Diaz puts a right hand behind Condit’s ear, tries
for a waistlock, but Condit bolts again. Diaz seems to want a
word with Condit after the horn, but they’re quickly separated.
Jordan
Breen scores the round 10-9 Diaz
Freddie DeFreitas scores the round 10-9 Diaz
Chris Nelson scores the round 10-9 Diaz
Round
3
Diaz tries to kick high but Condit is too far out of range. Condit
goes for an inside leg kick but eats a left hand against the
fence. Now Condit goes for teep kicks to keep Diaz at bay, but
Diaz nonetheless closes the gap and hurls a combo to the body
and head. A right hand-slash-forearm connects for Condit and
it’s followed by another leg kick. Diaz has a head kick
blocked but puts a nice right hook on Condit’s chin. Condit
hasn’t stopped moving, still working the outside with active
leg kicks and counters. Diaz misses by a mile with an awkward
front kick; Condit replies with a pair of whipping leg kicks
and one to the ribs. Diaz goes to the body with a left hand,
but again he can’t pin Condit on the fence. More jawing
from Diaz yields a jumping kick, a knee, a quick one-two from
Condit. With 50 seconds to go, Diaz cracks Condit with a crisp
left. Condit escapes and misses with a leaping knee. Condit slips
on a kick but Diaz doesn’t have time to capitalize before
the round ends.
Jordan
Breen scores the round 10-9 Condit
Freddie DeFreitas scores the round 10-9 Condit
Chris Nelson scores the round 10-9 Condit
Round
4
It’s the same familiar pattern as the fight moves into the
championship rounds, Condit working the outside and using effective
kicks while Diaz tries to close the gap and pin him on the cage.
Diaz finally gets the clinch and drops for a single-leg, but
Condit slips away. Diaz is still taunting, but there’s less
to taunt as Condit continues to punish the ex-Strikeforce champ’s
legs and body with kicks. Condit puts an uppercut in Diaz’s
breadbasket and follows up with a leg kick. Condit lands a hard
combo on Diaz’s face, has a kick caught and hops away to
keep kicking. A turning side-kick to the breadbasket of Diaz
scores for Condit. Another kick is caught, but again Diaz can’t
follow through. Diaz tries to kick high -- with less effect than
Condit -- and catches one last kick before the round ends.
Jordan
Breen scores the round 10-9 Condit
Freddie DeFreitas scores the round 10-9 Condit
Chris Nelson scores the round 10-9 Condit
Round
5
It’s more kicking, more spinning and more jogging from Condit,
who’s still got some spring left in his step as the final
round starts. Diaz ducks a punch and tries to clinch but finds
nothing. He digs a left to Condit’s body, misses with a
series of kicks. Condit responds with a crisp low kick, a right
hand up top and a head kick. Diaz finally gets the clinch but
it’s a matter of seconds before Condit’s loose again,
evading a big knee up the middle. Diaz snaps back Condit’s
head with a right straight, takes a hard kick in return. With
90 seconds left, Diaz takes a rear waist-lock and secures Condit’s
back as he’s dragging him to the mat. Diaz has a body triangle
as he hunts for the rear-naked choke, but Condit’s defending
the wrists well. Forty seconds to go and Diaz tries to lock up
the choke. Condit defends again and uses the cage to push off.
Diaz tries for an armbar with only seconds to go, but it’s
too late and the slippery Condit slides right out.
Jordan
Breen scores the round 10-9 Diaz (48-47 Condit)
Freddie DeFreitas scores the round 10-9 Diaz (48-47 Diaz)
Chris Nelson scores the round 10-9 Diaz (48-47 Condit)
Official
result: The judges have it 48-47, 49-46 and 49-46, all for the
winner by unanimous decision and new UFC interim welterweight
champion, Carlos Condit.
Source: Sherdog
|
Josh
Koscheck – Say Hello to the Bad Guy
by Damon
Martin
A
lot of kids growing up read comic books and aspire to be superheroes
like Superman or Batman one day. It’s not very often, however,
when a child hopes to become Lex Luthor or the Joker.
Well,
don’t paint Josh Koscheck as a bad guy or villain just yet,
but he certainly is not a fighter who will win a popularity contest
any time soon.
The
former Ultimate Fighter season one competitor has long been the
recipient of more boos in the UFC than just about any other fighter.
While many others including recent UFC on Fox 2 fighter Michael
Bisping have come close to the throne, UFC president Dana White
says the crown still rests firmly upon Koscheck’s head.
“Let’s
be honest, Bisping is probably other than Koscheck, the most
hated guy in the UFC. You’ve got to give the award to Koscheck,”
White said recently.
Even
former UFC light heavyweight champion Rashad Evans, who has been
viewed as one of the least popular fighters in the sport, has
his fans. White’s not sure Koscheck has any.
“There’s
some people I’ve seen cheer for Rashad, I’ve never
seen one guy clapping in an entire arena when Josh Koscheck walks
out. Ever,” White stated.
Although
Koscheck doesn’t appear to be on anyone’s favorite
fighter list, he certainly does draw a crowd.
Whether
fans love him or hate him, Koscheck is always a person that people
want to see fight, even if it’s with the hope that he’ll
lose.
White
explains that there’s something about impassioned hate that
gets just as many viewers as a dedicated love for a fighter.
“I
think the people love, I think they love to see the guys fight
that they hate,” White said.
For
his part, Koscheck has never professed to being a bad guy by
any means, but he’s not going to change who he is for anybody,
and don’t expect him to apologize for that any time soon.
Chances
are when Josh Koscheck walks out in the arena on Saturday night
for his fight with Mike Pierce at UFC 143, he’ll receive
a lot of boos from the Las Vegas crowd, and he’ll surely
stir up a few more should he win.
Funny
thing though, love him or hate him, Josh Koscheck really doesn’t
care.
Source:
MMA Weekly
|
FTC
Closes Investigation of UFC Parent Company Zuffa
By Mike
Whitman
The
Federal Trade Commission has officially closed its ongoing investigation
into the business dealings of Ultimate Fighting Championship
parent company Zuffa, LLC.
The
FTC’s Bureau of Competition began its nonpublic investigation
of the company last year following Zuffa’s acquisition of
Explosion Entertainment, the parent company of Strikeforce --
then the UFC’s biggest competitor.
According
to a letter sent from FTC Secretary Donald S. Clark to Zuffa
attorney Stephen Axinn, the FTC conducted the investigation to
determine whether the acquisition violated either Section 5 of
the Federal Trade Commission Act, which discusses deceptive or
unfair business practices, or Section 7 of the Clayton Act, which
addresses monopolies.
“Upon
further review of this matter, it now appears that no further
action is warranted by the Commission at this time. Accordingly,
the investigation has been closed,” Clark wrote. “This
action is not to be construed as a determination that a violation
may not have occurred, just as the pendency of an investigation
should not be construed as a determination that a violation has
occurred. The Commission reserves the right to take such further
action as the public interest may require.”
Zuffa
acquired Strikeforce and the promotion’s fighter roster
last March. Since the purchase, three of Strikeforce’s five
male champions made successful UFC debuts, as Nick Diaz, Dan
Henderson and Alistair Overeem all earned Octagon victories last
year. Currently, only lightweight champion Gilbert Melendez and
middleweight titleholder Luke Rockhold hold Strikeforce gold,
while titles in three weight categories remain vacant.
Source:
Sherdog
|
Revenge
or Repeat? Brandon Vera vs. Thiago Silva 2 Set for UFC on FX
3
by Damon
Martin
The
big payback or the big beat down part two?
Well
that question will be answered on May 15 when Brandon Vera gets
a second shot at Thiago Silva at UFC on FX 3 when the two fighters
meet on May 15 in Virginia.
UFC
officials announced the new bout late Wednesday night.
Vera
and Silva first met at UFC 125 on New Year’s Day in 2011
with Silva winning a lopsided decision.
The
only problem is Silva tested positive for banned substances after
the bout and the fight was subsequently changed to a no contest.
Now
with his one year suspension lifted, Silva is free to return
to work and what better way to welcome him back than a rematch
with the man he faced back then.
Brandon
Vera has been gunning for a rematch with Silva ever since the
positive drug test happened, and now he’ll get his wish.
Vera
was initially released from the UFC after the loss to Silva,
but was given a second chance following the Brazilian’s
positive drug test. Vera bounced back at UFC 137 winning a somewhat
controversial decision over Eliot Marshall.
Now
the California fighter will try to right a wrong when he faces
Silva at UFC on FX 3 on May 15 in Fairfax, Virginia.
Source:
MMA Weekly
|
Jon
Jones Will Eventually Be a Heavyweight But Not in 2012
by Damon
Martin
UFC
light heavyweight champion Jon Jones will one day be a heavyweight,
but it won’t be in 2012.
Jones
flirted with the idea and has commented in the past that as he
gets older and his body continues to develop, he sees heavyweight
as a viable home.
He
even mentioned in a recent interview that he offered to go up
to heavyweight, but the UFC threw water on that idea, and UFC
President Dana White confirmed as much on Thursday.
“I’m
not really interested in him fighting at heavyweight this year,”
White said at the UFC 143 pre-fight press conference on Thursday.
“He’s at 205, there’s still guys there to fight.
He’s very young.”
Jones
will next compete at UFC 145 on April 21 in Atlanta against long
time rival Rashad Evans. If he gets past Evans, Jones could still
potentially face former Strikeforce light heavyweight champion
Dan Henderson later this year as well.
If
successful in both of those fights, Jones may not have a lot
of contenders left to go through at 205lbs and then a move to
heavyweight could happen.
It’s
just not likely to happen before 2012 is over.
“It’s
gonna happen eventually,” said White. “I don’t
think it’s going to happen this year.”
Source:
MMA Weekly
|
Jose
Aldo part ways with Soares and Guimarães, working exclusively
with Pederneiras
By Eduardo
Ferreira
The
career of the UFC featherweight champion, Jose Aldo, is again
in the hands of Andre Pederneiras, and not with Jorge Guimarães
and Ed Soares also as his managers. "I’m his only manager
now. We’ve sat down, talked and found it was the best way
to go. Since things are happening in Brazil now, we thought it
was the best call”, reveals Andre to TATAME.
It
comes six months after Junior dos Santos announced he also left
Guimarães and Soares’ management.
Nova
Uniao head-coach, Pederneiras trained and managed the athlete
until his conquest at WEC, when the fighter started to be managed
by Black House guys. Pederneiras revealed that other Nova Uniao
fighters will continue to be managed by Joinha and Ed, like Johnny
Eduardo, Diego Nunes and Luis Ramos. “They helped us to
get these guys there (in the UFC), I wasn’t fair firing
them”.
Aldo
won’t fight in Brasilia
The
manager took the chance to deny the rumors about a possibility
of Jose Aldo fighting in Brasilia, on April 21, according to
what the journalist Ancelmo Gois had published. “Jose Aldo
will be at Shooto, event that will take place in Brasilia and
will join the anti-crack campaign”, explains. Before going
to the capital of Brazil, Shooto’s ring will host athles
at Clube Hebraica, in Rio de Janeiro, on March 10.
Source:
Tatame
|
Report:
Overeem Charged with Misdemeanor Battery in Las Vegas
By Mike
Whitman
UFC
heavyweight No. 1 contender Alistair Overeem has been charged
with one count of misdemeanor battery, according to a report
from the Las Vegas Review-Journal.
The
alleged incident reportedly occurred at approximately 3 a.m.
on Jan. 2 at Wynn Las Vegas, a large casino-resort. According
to the report, Overeem allegedly “pushed or shoved a woman
in the face, causing her to fall back.”
Overeem,
31, could face a maximum penalty of six months in the Clark County
Detention Center and not more than a $1,000 fine, according to
the Las Vegas Review-Journal. The fighter is scheduled to appear
in court on Feb. 21 and has retained Las Vegas defense attorney
David Chesnoff.
“Alistair
was not arrested, but was summoned to court,” Chesnoff stated
in the report. “There are two sides to this story, and we
intend on vigorously defending this. Alistair maintains his innocence.”
The
Dutch knockout artist defeated Brock Lesnar on Dec. 30 in the
main event of UFC 141, which took place at the MGM Grand Garden
Arena in Las Vegas, felling the onetime heavyweight ruler with
a kick to the liver in round one.
With
the victory, the former Strikeforce and Dream champion earned
his shot at reigning UFC titleholder Junior dos Santos, though
it is currently unknown when the two striking specialists will
collide.
Source
Sherdog
|
Georges
St-Pierre Still Targeting Fall Return
While
the MMA world is abuzz talking about UFC welterweight champion
Georges St-Pierre’s return from an ACL injury that knocked
him out of this weekend’s UFC 143 main event, the champ
says his progress is ahead of schedule, but that he’s still
paying close attention to his rehabilitation so he’s not
having to start over at square one.
The
doctor’s are indicating the July is a likely target for
GSP to return to full-on training, but those who are hoping for
a late summer showdown between the champ and the winner of Saturday’s
fight between Nick Diaz and Carlos Condit may want to temper
their expectations.
While
St-Pierre is more than on track, he says he won’t be ready
for a fight this summer.
Source:
MMA Weekly
|
ESPN’s
John Barr on UFC pay report blowback: “It’s not our
charge to do your public relations”
By Zach
Arnold
If
you’re looking for an MMA audio interview-of-the-year candidate,
look no further than this very lengthy interview with John Barr
of ESPN’s Outside the Lines. If you have a long commute
or some down time, it’s well worth taking 90 minutes out
of your schedule to listen to the whole thing.
I
obviously won’t transcribe the entire interview here, but
I will give you some key summary points from it.
Mr.
Barr said that the issue of fighter pay in the UFC was initially
raised internally by ESPN producers after Zuffa bought out Strikeforce.
He says that, at that moment, everything you read in the dot-com
piece started being researched. The reaction to the piece, according
to the reporter, has been very different than the kind of feedback
they get when covering other sports & controversial topics.
The value of the lengthy audio interview Mr. Barr did is more
about his tone & surprise more than his actual comments.
He emphasized how surprised ESPN was by UFC’s aggressive
PR push back to the piece and that ESPN management advised him
not to get into tit-for-tat warfare with online fans/radio shows.
The most interesting characterization he had about MMA fans is
one I always talk about whenever I write anything neutral or
negative about Zuffa or MMA in general — I call it the ‘beehive
mentality.’ According to him, the reaction they got from
UFC supporters attacking the story was angry that the promotion
was being criticized. As far as things escalating & deteriorating
between ESPN & MMA fans and ESPN & UFC, Mr. Barr made
this revealing comment.
“I
would hope that it would not come to that and I would hope that
things would quiet down and that we’d all just move on with
our lives. Will we continue to cover the sport of Mixed Martial
Arts? Uh, yeah, I don’t think there’s any question
that we’re going to.”
As
for what John Barr said during the interview, he left it all
on the table in regards to his dealings with UFC and some of
the statements they’ve made about him since the Outside
the Lines piece aired on Sunday morning.
The
first 30 minutes of the interview are about what % figure ESPN
was able to estimate for how much UFC paid out to fighters. Mr.
Barr said the low end estimate was 4% and that the number most
bandied about was 10%.
Claim:
Both Matt Serra & Chuck Liddell refused to go on camera for
ESPN story
“I’m
glad you mentioned Matt Serra because anybody who’s been
following the hubbub, if you will… I’m not sure if
Dana said it during a press conference, I’m not sure what
the context was but at some point he said that we actually went
to interview Matt Serra, put him on camera, and that when we
didn’t like what he was saying that we decided to pull the
plug on the whole thing. I’m going to give Dana White the
benefit of the doubt and just say that he was misinformed. That’s
the best case scenario. The worst case scenario is that he’s
lying because I can tell you flat out we never put Matt Serra
on camera.
“I’ll
tell you what happened. We had contact with his agent, his agent
set up a meeting. I’ve never actually met Matt Serra. A
producer that I work with closely on the television story that
aired on Outside the Lines, Greg Amante, went to meet Matt outside
of his gym on Long Island. We had no idea what we thought about
this subject, we didn’t know if he was a guy who was thrilled
with his pay, a guy who was upset, we had no idea. We just wanted
to hear from the guy. And, you know, Greg had a pretty, well,
first of all Matt was about a hour of late. But when he did show
up, Greg had a good shot with him but he said it was bizarre.
He said he was really guarded, every time he mentioned the issue
of pay Matt got sort of evasive, you know, he said it was almost
like somebody had spoken to him before we showed up.
“Well,
look, it’s one of those things that, you know, I don’t,
again, I don’t know Matt. I’ve never spoken with Matt
but that’s what I’m hearing from a guy who I worked
with who I trust, that was his read on the situation. Matt didn’t
want to go on camera, OK? He didn’t have any interest in
it, that was made abundantly clear to Greg. So, this suggestion
that we put Matt on camera and then pulled the plug because we
didn’t like what he was saying… it just didn’t
happen, you know, and the suggestion that we did that with other
fighters? Believe me, heh, I would have LOVED to have heard from
more fighters on camera. As I said to Lorenzo (Fertitta) in person,
if you have fighters who are thrilled about their pay, what…
show me where to go, you know, I’ll be there tomorrow with
the camera. But I got to tell you, people just didn’t want
to touch this…
“There
were fighters who we spoke with who are current champions and
former champions who… you know, told us that, you know,
if they were to speak out about this kind of stuff it would be
the end of their careers. You know, there was one former champion
who I can tell you is beloved within the sport who told us that
if he were to speak about it it would have a negative impact
on his current business and I don’t want to tell you what
his current business because that would kind of narrow down the,
you know, the focus a little more on just who this guy was or
is, rather. But, there’s just this concern that, you know,
if you’re in it…
Claim:
Why fighters are afraid to speak out about UFC pay levels and
the ‘culture of fear’
“Fighters
basically broke down into three groups. There’s the guys
who are in it and, you know, none of the current guys would attach
their name to any quotes. There’s the guys who aren’t
in it who want to get in it. Those guys won’t talk, either.
And then there’s the guy who have been in the UFC but are
no longer in the UFC and they want to get back into the UFC and
those guys won’t speak, either, and then there’s I
guess a completely another group, a fourth group of guys who
have a business that is somewhat dependent on their continued
good relationship with the UFC establishment and those guys are
difficult to approach as well.
“So,
there’s all sorts of challenges and on some level the UFC’s
in a good spot because you wind up getting guys who, you know,
in their minds and in their characterizations often have baggage.
Does Ken Shamrock? Absolutely, he has baggage. Did we report
that eh had been engaged, that he was involved in a lawsuit with
Zuffa? We did. Did we do it within the context of the story?
No. Bob Ley mentioned it after the story but we got the information
in there. We actually received a letter from UFC’s attorneys
not after the piece ran but after a short tease of the story
ran and there was one little comment from Ken Shamrock in that
piece and I’m not sure who saw that and who decided to pick
up the phone and call the lawyers but as soon as somebody saw
Shamrock they had their attorneys send us a letter and…
look, to be fair, yeah, we should be mentioning that Ken Shamrock
was involved in a lawsuit with the UFC and he lost and he owes
them legal fees. Does that make what he was saying wrong? You
know, I’ll leave that up to others to decide. I know what
I heard from over two dozen fighters not named Ken Shamrock,
so… I felt pretty comfortable with airing what we did as
far as what Ken’s comments were.
“Look,
there’s definitely a culture of fear that exists and I don’t
know that people do fully appreciate that. Dana White is a, look,
he’s a passionate guy. He’s obviously incredibly driven
and, you know, he’s a large reason why that company is where
it is today. The people who are really close to the situation
give Lorenzo Fertitta more credit as far as his business acumen
but there’s no question if the sport needed a bulldog to
go out and just be relentless in his pursuit of growing the sport
they found the perfect guy in Dana White.
“But,
yeah, to your point about intimidation tactics… you know,
look, we interviewed Monte Cox who has been around the sport
forever, who has staged hundreds of his own smaller promotions,
who has several former champions and 16 guys in it now, he’s
got like 70 fighters I guess in his stable now… he’s
been cursed out by Dana White over the phone. It’s almost
like I don’t think you can be an agent or a manager with
a fighter in the UFC and push the envelope and not meet some
level of heated resistance at some point. You know, (there are)
any number of managers who have stories about heated profanity-laced
exchanges with Dana White.”
Theme:
UFC management and MMA fans need to grow a set and be able to
take some heat, Zuffa/MMA writers & getting credentials
“It’s
clear to me that if the UFC really wants to mature as a sports
entity, it’s going to have to be able to shoulder and weather
the criticism. I live in Philadelphia, OK? You know, probably
outside of New York, maybe Boston, I can’t think of a more
passionate fan base in terms of, you know, columnists who are
critical of the local sports teams, sports radio hosts who bring
it every day with no holds barred, pardon the expression, critiques
when you know the leaders of their local sports teams don’t
call those shots the right way. Heck, there were people calling
for Andy Reid’s head after the third week of the season.
But those columnists go to press conferences every week, multiple
times a week, they go into the locker rooms and talk to players,
they’re not banned. You know, they’re big boys, they
can take the slings & arrows. You know, if you want to really
prove that you’ve arrived then put up with it, you know?
That’s my take.
“If
every story that comes out that’s mildly critical or takes
a critical view of what you do if every story is to be responded
to by somebody coming out with a series of half-truths and, you
know, what was rather telling when UFC put two videos out. One
of them was a 10 minute video that included interviews with Chuck
Liddell, who by the way wouldn’t talk to us for our story,
Matt Serra who by the way wouldn’t talk to us for our story,
and Forrest Griffin who we never contacted. But it also included
several clips from the interview that I did with Lorenzo…
I didn’t tall them up but I think he may have made 10 to
15 salient points during the course of that UFC-produced video
and easily 7 of them were either in the TV piece that we did
or the dot-com piece that we did.
“Look,
we’re not, it’s not our charge to do your public relations.
You hire people for that. I had a news director years ago who
told me, ‘PR people distort the truth, you report the truth.’
You know, that sounds like, you know, I’m trying to say
I fight for truth, justice, and the American way but at the end
of the day that’s all we want, that’s what we try to
get at — the TRUTH. I know people are out there just convinced
that we have this agenda and there are some people that are the
conspiracy theorists who think (UFC) signed a deal with FOX so
ESPN’s out to get them! And that’s convenient and it
fits into somebody’s paradigm but it’s just not the
way we work, you know?
“I
can tell you, I can reel off the last dozen stories I’ve
done, there have been stories that have been critical of the
NFL. We did a piece recently that was critical of the quality
of NBA officiating. We put hundreds of millions of dollars in
the NBA’s pocket every year, you know. This is not about
that. It’s about journalism, it’s what we do, and this
is a story that we thought was important to do. Heck, we don’t
cover Mixed Martial Arts enough, you know, and the few times
we do it we get blasted for not doing it in a way that essentially
would have us be nothing more than shills of the UFC. That’s
not the kind of reporter I want to be.”
Addressing
claims that ESPN selectively edited interview video to make UFC
look bad & Dana White’s grudge against ESPN
“People
can see it on Youtube if they want to watch the whole bloody
47 minute thing but I shook Lorenzo Fertitta’s hand and
this was after he told me why Dana White won’t do any more
interviews with ESPN and I said, ‘look, I hope this isn’t
your last interview with ESPN, we really appreciate you making
the time,’ and I do and I know… you know, I do think
it’s important for us to have access to these guys if we
want to cover them and cover them in a meaningful way. And, as
I said earlier, I think it will go a long way in helping that
company define itself as far as the maturation process is if
they can demonstrate that they are not impervious to criticism.
They need to… you know… I think it would go a long
way in adding to the credibility of their product if they were
able to withstand a critical analysis from the outside from time
to time.
“Look,
[Dana] wasn’t a big fan of ESPN to begin with. He’s
still hacked off about a profile that our friends at E:60 did
about him some months ago. You know, a very fine reporter Tom
Farrey who I work with who I respect a lot did that story. He’s
still upset about that and that was the reason cited for Dana
not agreeing to not do an interview with us, it’s just the
lingering… I guess ill-will he feels towards ESPN because
of that feature. I actually thought that the piece was pretty
fair, you know… I thought it was a pretty accurate reflection
of a guy who… is, you know, at times profane, at times always
passionate… and just… you know, one could argue an
extremely aggressive and one might even argue ruthless businessman.
But, what are going to do?
“Yeah,
I’ve never received (feedback) like this, but it is what
it is. It’s not going to change how I do what I do. At the
end of the day, if you wake up and feel good about what you’ve
done and if you feel like you’re true to your moral code,
that’s all that really matters, you know. There could be
3,000 people on ESPN.com ripping me for being a lousy reporter,
it doesn’t mean that I’m going to buy any of it. You’re
never as good as they tell you are and you’re never as lousy
as they tell you that you are. Like I said before, you throw
out the Russian and the American judge and you settle for what’s
left.”
Source:
Fight Opinion
|
MAN
UP AND STAND UP Today!
WAIPAHU FILCOM CENTER, WAIPAHU
SATURDAY, FEBRUARY 4, 2012
DOORS OPEN AT 6:00
DEVON MINA 80 SPIKE KAHALEWAI
NYLEN KUKAHIKO 80-90 RADRAJAH BRAZWELL
BRONSON SARDINHA 200 MARLEY
CHEVEZ ANTOQUE 185 MILLER UALESEI
SCOTT ENDO 185 DAMON TURCOIS
SPENCER QUELL 200 JONAH AFOA
LEE HARPER SHW ALBERT CAMBRA
JADA PEREIRA 112 LISA HA
JUSTIN PACARRO 60 AINSLEY
CHANCE CENO 80 KONA
DAMON APPLEBAUM
SHW BRICESON
AIONA
KAI KUNIMOTO 140 OLA
LUM
GAVIN PAGUYO 185 NAINOA LEFLER
BARNAIRE MADALORA 160 JON BURGESS
DONALD PETERS 140 TOFI MIKA
FATS VAISAU 175 LOMBARD MADALORA
JEFF LAGAMAN 145 NEVADA HARRISON
CHANTE STAFFORD 115 NELSON KUKAHIKO
EUGENE
ANGUAY 130
THOMAS REYES
JUSTIN KAHALEWAI 135 ANTHONY REYES
NATHAN WOODE 125 KALAI
KWAN
DARRYL DANO 150 SHAWN MIYAHARA
FREDDY RAMAYLA 145 JORDAN TIMBLE
JENNA GANABAN 135 ALSHADAINE MONTIRA
LAAKEA 160 MATT FISHER
All
matches & participants may be subject to change.
Source: Derrick Bright
|
UFC
143 Today
Mandalay Bay Events Center, Las Vegas, NV
Saturday, February 4, 2012
Hawaii
Air Time:
Preliminaries 3:00-5:00PM Channel 554 (FX)
Event 5:00-8:00PM Channel 701
Dark matches
Middleweights: Rafael Natal vs. Michael Kuiper
Welterweights: Dan Stittgen vs. Stephen Thompson
Welterweights: Matt Brown vs. Chris Cope
Bantamweights: Bruce Leeroy vs. Edwin Figueroa
Welterweights: Matt Riddle vs. Jorge Lopez
Featherweights: Dustin Poirier vs. Max Holloway
Main card
Middleweights: Ed Herman (-250, 5 to 2 favorite) vs. Cliff Starks
(+200)
Bantamweights: Renan Barao (-250, 5 to 2 favorite) vs. Scott
Jorgensen (+200)
Welterweights: Josh Koscheck (-260, 13 to 5 favorite) vs. Mike
Pierce (+200)
Heavyweights: Roy Nelson vs. Fabricio Werdum (PICK ‘EM)
Welterweight eliminator (interim championship): Nick Diaz (-180)
vs. Carlos Condit (+150)
Source: Fight Opinion
|
Dan
Henderson Likely to Sit and Wait for Winner of Jones/Evans
by Damon
Martin
When
Rashad Evans defeated Phil Davis at UFC on Fox 2, it locked up
his position as the No. 1 contender in the light heavyweight
division, and assured him of the next shot at champion Jon Jones.
Unless
something unfortunate happens, Evans will finally face Jones
on April 21 at UFC 145 in Atlanta, but that still leaves one
big lingering question.
What
about Dan Henderson?
The
former Strikeforce light heavyweight champion was the other name
that was vying for a shot at Jon Jones after his ‘Fight
of the Year’ performance against Mauricio ‘Shogun’
Rua at UFC 139 last November.
Henderson
was originally offered a fight with Antonio Rogerio Nogueira,
but turned it down on the prospect that he could still get a
fight with Jones.
Now
that Rashad Evans has been given the next shot at Jones, it appears
Henderson is happy to sit and wait for the winner of that fight
later this year.
“Dan
Henderson’s in a position right now where it looks like
he wants to wait for Jon Jones,” UFC President Dana White
said on Thursday. “We’ll see what happens with this
Rashad fight.”
Traditionally,
Henderson has been a fighter that hasn’t enjoyed sitting
out for long periods of time, and reportedly called White asking
to compete again right after his last bout with Rua ended.
Now
it looks like Henderson would rather wait for his opportunity
to fight for the UFC title as opposed to taking another fight
for the time being.
Source:
MMA Weekly
|
UFC
143 Preview: The Main Card
By Tristen
Critchfield
Condit has 26 finishes.
The Ultimate Fighting Championship’s traditional Super Bowl
weekend card almost always manages to provide mixed martial arts
fans with a reason to ignore chores and family-related functions
for two days instead of one. Last year gave us Anderson Silva’s
front kick knockout on Vitor Belfort, as well as the opening
chapter in The Year of Jon Jones. This year promises to deliver
the goods, as well, as Carlos Condit and Nick Diaz figure to
be a tough act for the Giants and Patriots to follow.
With
Georges St. Pierre sidelined after knee surgery, an interim welterweight
champion must be crowned in his absence. So before Tom Brady
or Eli Manning gets to hoist the Lombardi Trophy on Sunday in
Indianapolis, Condit or Diaz will have his first taste of UFC
gold.
Just
do not expect either man to announce post-fight Disney World
plans in the aftermath.
Going
down from the Mandalay Bay Events Center in Las Vegas, UFC 143
on Saturday also features a key heavyweight clash between Fabricio
Werdum and Roy Nelson, as well as the return of exciting up-and-coming
bantamweight Renan “Barao” Pegado. Here is a closer
look at the main draw, with analysis and picks.
UFC
Interim Welterweight Championship
Nick Diaz (26-7, 7-4 UFC) vs. Carlos Condit (27-5, 4-1 UFC)
The
Matchup: Over the past few months, Condit has been hypothetically
matched against B.J. Penn, Georges St. Pierre and Josh Koscheck
without ever stepping into the Octagon against any of the three.
Finally, the “Natural Born Killer” will get his moment
in the sun in the form of an interim UFC title bout against former
Strikeforce welterweight king Diaz.
It
is as attractive a fight as one could hope for, with both Condit’s
and Diaz’s intensity and aggression bound to generate fireworks
come fight night. Fight card shuffling has kept Condit out of
action since July, but his performance at UFC 132 should not
be overlooked. Faced with a physical judoka in Dong Hyun Kim,
many expected that the lanky Jackson’s Mixed Martial Arts
product would have to figure out a way to score points and win
the fight from his back. Instead, the New Mexican swept Kim and
got to his feet after being taken down. He then knocked out the
Korean with a spectacular flying knee. It was yet another example
of Condit’s extraordinary finishing instinct, as 26 of the
former WEC champion’s 27 career victories have come by way
of knockout, technical knockout or submission.
That
sense of urgency should serve him well against Diaz, whose volume
punching style first mesmerizes -- then breaks -- lesser opponents.
Diaz was at the height of his powers in 2011, landing nearly
11 strikes per minute, according to FightMetric.com. In his return
to the Octagon, he overwhelmed Penn by pummeling the Hawaiian
with a then-record 178 significant strikes over the course of
three rounds; his brother, Nate Diaz, has since surpassed that
mark.
The
Stockton, Calif., native has improved by leaps and bounds since
his first UFC stint, when wrestlers would plant Diaz on his back
with little fear of repercussion. Now Diaz’s jiu-jitsu game
is so advanced that most fighters would rather stand and trade
in the pocket, a decision that suits the 28-year-old just fine.
While certainly not the most technical, Diaz is nonetheless one
of the best boxers in the sport today, and his great gas tank
allows him to apply unyielding pressure as his foes begin to
wilt. Diaz is known for his great chin, and he is often willing
to absorb a shot or two for the opportunity to land multiple
combinations of his own. Diaz works the body better than anyone
in MMA, and his long frame usually allows him to throw punches
at difficult angles while avoiding significant punishment in
return.
Condit’s
versatile kickboxing game gives him the tools he needs to disrupt
Diaz. Consistent kicks to the lead leg of the former EliteXC
competitor will slow his pace and allow Condit the space he needs
to unleash a varied attack that includes high kicks, knees and
punches.
Exchanging
in the pocket will be a losing battle for Condit, who struggled
to defend himself there against the likes of Jake Ellenberger
and Martin Kampmann earlier in his career. Rather than risk death
by a thousand cuts, Condit needs to force tie-ups when Diaz presses
forward; there, he is good at landing strikes, as well as takedowns.
Condit’s ground-and-pound can be lethally effective -- witness
his late rally against Rory MacDonald at UFC 115 -- but he will
need to temper his all-offense approach if he finds himself in
guard, because Diaz will work constantly and is capable of turning
the tide at a moment’s notice.
The
Pick: Condit has a better gas tank than Penn, greater versatility
than Paul Daley and a more measured approach than Evangelista
“Cyborg” Santos. In short, he can test Diaz in ways
recent foes have not. Much of the challenge in facing Diaz is
mental, and Condit must not let the inevitable barrage put him
in an early hole. This is the type of fight where both men are
capable of attacking from any position, and both have shown remarkable
composure in fighting out of tight spots. Condit is intelligent
enough to not allow Diaz to get too comfortable, and the well-rounded
skills of the “Natural Born Killer” will allow him
to hang on for a wildly entertaining -- and sometimes harrowing
-- decision victory.
Heavyweights
Roy Nelson (16-6, 3-2 UFC) vs. Fabricio Werdum (14-5-1, 2-2 UFC)
The
Matchup: Werdum returns to the UFC after a three-year absence
and a couple of high-profile bouts against Alistair Overeem and
Fedor Emelianenko.
Most
recently, the Brazilian dropped a disappointing unanimous decision
to Overeem in June, when his insistence on trying to bait the
hulking Dutchman into a ground game made for less than scintillating
action. It was a testament to Werdum’s all-world jiu-jitsu
skills that Overeem was reluctant to comply, and that wariness
allowed Werdum to land a decent volume of strikes on the feet.
While Werdum seemed to do a solid job of throwing off Overeem’s
timing, he did not connect with enough power to sway the judges.
The standup of “Vai Cavalo” has improved over the years,
but it is not enough to earn win bonuses on its own.
A
slimmed-down Nelson did what he was supposed to do at UFC 137,
stopping Mirko “Cro Cop” Filipovic on strikes in the
third round. It was a much better performance than the one he
gave against Frank Mir five months earlier, when a bout with
walking pneumonia sapped his cardio. Like Werdum, “Big Country”
is a Brazilian jiu-jitsu black belt, but that does not mean their
skills are equal. Nelson is at his best in top control, where
he can use his girth and strength to pass guard and bully opponents.
A favorite weapon of his is the mounted crucifix, which allows
him to enlist his bulge in launching an unimpeded assault on
the ground.
Werdum,
meanwhile, is capable of stringing multiple submissions together,
whether on top or on his back. Both men like to use the clinch
to set up takedowns, and whoever can get the best of these battles
will have a significant advantage. Werdum is generally craftier
in these situations and will make it difficult for Nelson to
execute his favored outside-trip-to-half-guard maneuver.
On
the feet, Nelson has a granite chin, as demonstrated by his going
the distance with Junior dos Santos at UFC 117, and can score
the occasional knockout with his overhand right. Mostly, he prefers
to fire off one-two combos at a relatively safe distance before
moving forward to force the clinch. Likewise, Werdum uses his
striking as a precursor to getting fights to the ground. After
facing Overeem, he is not likely to be scared of anything Nelson
has to offer in the standup. However, Werdum’s tendency
to drop his hands in exchanges could come back to haunt him if
“Big Country” connects on one of his haymakers.
The
Pick: Nelson is solid as a middle-of-the-road contender, but
he tends to falter against Top 10-level competition. His best
chance is to hurt the Brazilian with something big early. Nelson
tends to take a decent amount of damage standing, which will
allow Werdum to soften him up for takedowns. Werdum wins by third-round
submission.
Welterweights
Josh Koscheck (16-5, 14-5 UFC) vs. Mike Pierce (13-4, 6-2 UFC)
The
Matchup: Koscheck has to be as interested as anyone in the current
landscape of the welterweight division. Two dances with Georges
St. Pierre have proven that Koscheck’s world-class wrestling
and athleticism are no match for the champ, but if St. Pierre
struggles to defend his title upon his return from injury, “Kos”
might have new life.
None
of that matters if he cannot take out Pierce, a leather-tough
grinder whose only losses have come to elite wrestlers Jon Fitch
and Johny Hendricks. Pierce, who has not been finished in 17
professional bouts, had his chances against both men. He needs
a signature win to move up the 170-pound ranks, and Koscheck
provides that opportunity.
Koscheck,
a former NCAA national champion wrestler at Edinboro University,
has a lightning-quick shot that few in the sport outside of St.
Pierre can defend. “The Ultimate Fighter” Season 1
alumnus also has knockout power, particularly in his right hand,
and can fall in love with his standup, as a result. Koscheck’s
overhand right can be a game changer, but he is not particularly
adept at putting together combinations or connecting with power
at close range. Pierce’s striking is somewhat similar, if
less dangerous, as he often hunts for the single power shot.
He did make diligent use of his jab and leg kicks in a split
decision win over Paul Bradley at UFC on Fox 1.
Pierce
has fairly stout takedown defense, so expect Koscheck to be content
to keep it standing, especially early. Pierce will want to close
distance and force tie-ups, where his striking is generally more
effective. When the two combatants break away from the clinch,
Pierce will try to punish Koscheck with elbows.
The
Pick: Coming off a spectacular finish of Matt Hughes at UFC 135,
Koscheck would no doubt like to overwhelm again to impress UFC
brass, but Pierce is not the type to be easily dominated. Koscheck
will win the majority of exchanges on the feet and eventually
create openings for his explosive shot as the fight advances.
Pierce hangs tough but falls via unanimous decision.
Bantamweights
Renan “Barao” Pegado (27-1, 2-0 UFC) vs. Scott Jorgensen
(13-4, 2-0 UFC)
The
Matchup: Every part of Pegado looks like a star in the making,
from his Nova Uniao pedigree and his 17-fight winning streak
to his flair for finishing.
“Barao”
officially announced his presence to the mixed martial arts world
at UFC 138, where he submitted Brad Pickett with a rear-naked
choke inside of a round. It was not just the swiftness with which
he pounced for the submission that was impressive, however, as
the Brazilian looked fearless in a firefight with the dangerous
Brit before connecting with a knee that set up the decisive choke.
Dominick Cruz has been doing his best to clean out the bantamweight
division, but another dominant victory for Pegado would certify
him as a viable challenger.
Jorgensen
has firsthand knowledge of the champion, having dropped a five-round
decision to Cruz at WEC 53. An All-American wrestler at Boise
State University, he should provide a good test for Pegado, who
has not faced someone who can consistently plant him on the canvas.
Pegado’s
varied striking arsenal -- he can attack with punches, kicks
and knees -- will keep Jorgensen guessing and limit the effectiveness
of his takedowns. “Young Guns” will need to make judicious
use of his quick right hand to aid him in getting the fight to
the mat. Jorgensen has good conditioning and works at a high
pace, and if he can control Pegado from the top for an extended
period of time, things will get interesting.
It
is no guarantee that Jorgensen survives on the ground, because
“Barao” has shown a wicked submission game. With that
in mind, Jorgensen must be conservative if he finds himself inside
Pegado’s guard. It is worth noting that the former WEC standout
worked timely ground-and-pound against Brazilian jiu-jitsu black
belt Jeff Curran at UFC 137.
The
Pick: Jorgensen will put the pressure on “Barao” early,
but if he cannot get the Brazilian down, his time will be limited.
Jorgensen has demonstrated the ability to recover quickly when
hurt, but whether that is quick enough to hold off a submission
from Pegado is another story entirely. Pegado stuns Jorgensen
on the feet and then pounces to elicit a tapout in the second
round.
Middleweights
Ed Herman (19-8, 6-5 UFC) vs. Clifford Starks (8-0, 1-0 UFC)
The
Matchup: Herman seems to have made a full recovery from the reconstructive
knee surgery that kept him out of action for nearly two years,
as he finished both Tim Credeur and Kyle Noke inside of a round
last year.
“The
Ultimate Fighter 2” alumnus masks his average standup with
good takedowns, submissions and a high work rate on the ground.
He will have a like-minded opponent in Starks, a former collegiate
wrestler at Arizona State University who won his UFC debut over
Dustin Jacoby on the strength of scoring a takedown in each round.
It was a fairly slow-paced fight, however, and the Arizona Combat
Sports representative will have to improve if he wants to implement
a similar game plan against Herman.
“Short
Fuse’ will look to close the distance on Starks as soon
as possible. While not especially adept at landing punches from
the outside, Herman is dangerous in the clinch, as he proved
by dropping Credeur with an uppercut in tight at “The Ultimate
Fighter 13’ Finale. Once on the canvas, Herman’s cardio
and physical strength allow him to impose his will with relentless
ground-and-pound.
Starks
showed a decent counter left hand in the third round of his match
with Jacoby, and he will need to find it again as Herman attempts
to apply pressure. Should he get Herman to the mat, awareness
when attempting to pass guard is essential; the 31-year-old Oregon
native slapped an inverted heel hook on Noke when the Aussie
attempted to move to full mount in their UFC Live 5 tussle.
The
Pick: Do not be fooled by Starks glossy record, as Herman is
easily the toughest and most experienced foe he has faced to
date. If Starks can sprawl effectively and force Herman to stay
upright, he has a chance. It is an unlikely scenario, however.
Herman captures his third straight victory via TKO in the second
or third frame.
Source:
Sherdog
|
Roger
Gracie: “I’m changing my game”
Raphael
Nogueira
“I’m
changing my game,” said Roger Gracie this Friday behind
the scenes at the 2012 European Championship, the welcoming Jiu-Jitsu
tournament going on in Lisbon, Portugal, until Sunday.
“For
my whole career as a black belt I got used to starting out slow
and calm in my matches. I never felt the need to go all out against
my opponents during the first two minutes, since a match lasts
ten. I always started out slow and brought up the rhythm progressively,
hitting max intensity towards the end. However, ever since losing
in MMA [to Muhammed “King Mo” Lawal by knockout at
Strikeforce in September 2011] it dawned on me; if I don’t
change my way of fighting, I’ll lose again,” said the
Rio de Janeiro, Brazil-London, England transplant.
The
Gracie gave hints that he won’t be able to be an “explosive
MMA fighter” so long as he remains a, shall we say, “excessively
calm” Jiu-Jitsu competitor. The essence [Jiu-Jitsu] is what
dictates the rules for all the other facets of Roger Gracie,
even when he steps into the ring sporting gloves and trunks.
IN
THE NAME OF THE SON AND JIU-JITSU
The
Gracie gets emotional (teary eyed) as he remembers the moment
he first caught sight of his son after his fight with “King
Mo”. “I don’t want to ever feel like that again;
my son is the most important thing to me, and I want to be the
best example possible for him; so I can’t let myself go
home defeated,” said Roger.
“So
I’m focused on my MMA career now. I believe that, in the
gi, this year I’ll only compete at the Worlds. That’s
why I didn’t sign up for the European. I’d really like
to compete at a high-level championship but my priority right
now is MMA training. That was the big career lesson I learned
from losing: I have to be more determined, enter the fight at
a more intense pace. In Jiu-Jitsu, I often get taken down early
on, but I have around eight minutes to recover, which is plenty
of time. In MMA, one punch or a knee can end the fight instantly;
there’s no time to recover from a knockout.”
Through
the bustle of attending to the fans, students and friends surrounding
him, Roger took the reporter’s question pertaining to the
absolute black belt title in Lisbon: In the end, who’s going
to be the big winner of the 2012 European Championship.
“Well,
Rodolfo Vieira is the favorite, there’s no denying it. He’s
been coming up with great results. But everyone has a chance.
I got to see Lagarto training up close, for instance, and he’s
in excellent form. But if what you’re asking is that I point
out the favorite, there’s no denying it’s Rodolfo.”
Source:
Gracie Magazine
|
FRESH
OFF KO WINS, PAT BARRY VS. LAVAR JOHNSON SET FOR UFC ON FOX 3
By Mike
Chiappetta - Senior Writer
It
won't take either Pat Barry or Lavar Johnson long to get right
back in the cage after knockout wins within the last two weeks.
The
two heavyweight sluggers have agreed to face each other at the
upcoming UFC on FOX 3 event this spring, the UFC confirmed early
Tuesday morning.
Johnson
(16-5) made his UFC debut at last weekend's UFC on FOX 2, knocking
out Joey Beltran with a hail of first-round uppercuts. Meanwhile,
Barry (7-4) returned to the win column at the UFC on FX show
on Jan. 20, overcoming some early first-round troubles on the
ground to KO Christian Morecraft.
Both
fighters took nightly awards for their performances, with Johnson
winning KO of the Night for becoming the first man ever to knockout
Beltran, while Barry won a Fight of the Night award for his comeback.
Meanwhile,
the UFC also confirmed that the previously announced lightweight
bout pitting Nate Diaz vs. Jim Miller during the same show would
serve as the evening's main event and be scheduled for five rounds.
It is possible that the winner will become the No. 1 contender
for the lightweight title, though the promotion did not confirm
that.
UFC
on FOX 3 will take place on May 5 at the Izod Center in East
Rutherford, New Jersey.
Source:
MMA Fighting
|
Diaz
vs. Miller Set as UFC on Fox 3 Main Event; Barry vs. Johnson
on Tap for Main Card
by Damon
Martin
The
UFC on Fox 3 fight card now has its main event along with a heavyweight
battle that has fireworks written all over it.
First
off, the main event is a fight that everyone already knew about
after UFC president Dana White announced it just over a week
ago.
Lightweight
contenders Jim Miller and Nate Diaz will square of in a five-round
main event on May 5 in Miller’s home state of New Jersey,
with the winner more than likely gaining a shot at the UFC lightweight
strap in 2012.
The
bout was already set for the UFC on Fox 3 card, but now it’s
officially the main event.
White
confirmed last week during the UFC on Fox 2 festivities that
the bout between Miller and Diaz would most likely be a No. 1
contender’s bout.
In
addition to Miller vs. Diaz, a heavyweight scrap has been added
to the card featuring highly popular fighter Pat Barry taking
on Strikeforce transplant and recent Knockout of the Night recipient
Lavar Johnson.
MMAWeekly.com
first learned of the possibility of the Barry vs. Johnson fight
just 24 hours removed from the latter’s fight at UFC on
Fox 2 in Chicago, and now the match-up is official.
Barry
competed just a week prior when he knocked out Christian Morecraft
at UFC on FX 1, and he’ll likely be in for another stand-up
war when he faces the heavy handed Johnson at UFC on Fox 3 in
New Jersey.
Barry
vs. Johnson will be on the main televised card for the Fox show.
The
UFC on Fox 3 card takes place at the IZOD Center in New Jersey
on Saturday, May 5, and will air live on Fox.
Source:
MMA Weekly
|
Jiu-Jitsu
champ Demian Maia reviews main mistake at UFC on Fox
Contributor:
Junior Samurai
Jiu-Jitsu
and ADCC 2007 star Demian Maia had a crack at the UFC middleweight
title back in 2010, even racked up five back-to-back submission
wins in the promotion.
Now
after his participation in the main card at UFC on Fox 2 last
Saturday, the Brazilian black belt had a chat with GRACIEMAG.com
in which he recognized where he went wrong. Coming up, Demian
Maia addresses his tactics and points out the mistakes he has
identified and the lessons he has derived since dropping a unanimous
decision to the tough young Chris Weidman, another ADCC alumnus.
OVERCONFIDENT
STANDING
“I
really put a lot of faith in my standup, since I felt quick and
heavy handed, and thought I could knock him out boxing. I based
my strategy on that confidence, which in fact wasn’t what
I had agreed to do with my trainers,” said Demian. “I
was confident and believed in it; that’s why I took that
risk. That was my belief at that time,” he admitted to reporter
Junior Samurai, while also remembering that Weidman is quite
a piece of work on the ground himself.
Fired
up to win the fight by knockout, the Jiu-Jitsu champ ended up
running out of steam and unable to rally back.
“I
was in great shape for this fight, really well prepared. Now
I don’t know if it was the adrenaline from wanting the knockout
too much; that could have sapped my energy,” Maia added.
TARGET
VICTORY, NOT JUST THE KNOCKOUT
“The
lesson I ended up learning was that all I should be thinking
about is winning. In this fight, I went in dead set on getting
the knockout and, after staggering him standing, getting him
to the ground to finish him. But I think I have to start fighting
with winning on my mind, fighting to always be in a dominant
position, and that’s not what I did. I went in there thinking
about ending the fight, and that wore me out a lot, hindered
me. I should have fought thinking about winning, no matter what.
Because I already knew he’d taken me down, so my goal should
have been to score too, to get a takedown back on him, like I
always used to do,” recalled the Fabio Gurgel black belt.
Source:
Gracie Magazine
|
Dana
White uses 9/11 analogy for Anonymous UFC site hack, says they’ll
get “Bin Laden’d”
By Zach
Arnold
In
an explosive 13-minute interview with Mauro Ranallo and The Score,
UFC President Dana White doubled-down his attacks on the group
Anonymous. The way in which Dana calls out Anonymous is breathtaking
in its stupidity. As UFC found out last night, challenging Anonymous
is a bad, bad idea.
(It
should be noted, for the record, that the initial hackers last
weekend claimed they weren’t affiliated with Anonymous but
sympathized with them.)
The
interview starts off with a preview of Saturday’s UFC on
Fox fight card. Mauro then transitions into asking why the upcoming
Montreal event, scheduled for March, got postponed. Dana started
to get riled up here, wondering how that information was pushed
hard as a public story. After he explained why the show got postponed,
the topic moved onto the future of Strikeforce. Dana says he
has a battle plan to make Strikeforce high quality (as good as
WEC was)… if he can sit down with the powers-that-be at
Showtime and get what he wants done.
Mauro
then asked him about the UFC web site getting hacked last weekend.
For about three minutes, White goes into combat mode saying that
he’s not afraid of the Internet unlike the MMA media because
the media lives and breathes the Internet but he doesn’t.
Dana strongly claims that no customer information was put at
risk in the hacks, only that the URL got manipulated. He starts
to amp up the testosterone quotient as he gets worked up about
not ‘messing with the Government.’
Bizarrely,
Dana feels the need to say: “Has the government (FTC) ever
come out and said that we’re investigating the UFC?”
and “Have you ever seen a press release come out?”
He then concludes, “No. Exactly. You don’t mess with
the Government.”
MMA
Fighting: Dana White thinks revealing fighters’ actual salaries
would be harmful… for the fighters
He
manages to lump in the fact/fiction about an FTC investigation
with the topic of ESPN doing a story about fighter pay in the
UFC, basically discrediting everything that’s put out online
and in the media. At around the 10 minute mark, Dana starts drawing
a line in the sand (or digging his own proverbial grave, your
viewpoint may vary here).
DANA
WHITE:“My point is… you know, like I said, you don’t
mess with the Government. You start messing with the Government
and what these Internet guys done now is in a situation where,
um, you know it’s almost like New York (9/11), you know,
in New York when the Towers got hit. People didn’t run away
in fear. Did people run in fear? People mourned and then this
country got together, you know, and went out and kicked some
ass. That’s what happened. And now you guys on the Internet,
doing this goofy stuff playing your little nerd games, you’ve
pissed some people off.”
MAURO
RANALLO:“Including you.”
DANA
WHITE:“Including me, and you don’t scare me.”
MAURO
RANALLO:“What are you guys going to do about it?”
DANA
WHITE:“Sit back and see what happens over the next several
months, you know, and just like any other war, any other fight,
that’s what this is going to be, you know? But let me tell
you what — you want to get out there and they always talk
about me and bullying people or whatever, I’m not a bully,
man. If you want a fight with me, let’s fight. We’re
going to fight then!”
MAURO
RANALLO:“We’re not going to see a change? Even now
with Fox and we’ve talked about this before, too, I mean
you go on the Internet and you tell people off when they have
something bad to say for you. For Dana White, this is what we’re
always going to get. No one, Fox won’t change you, no one
will change you?”
DANA
WHITE:“No. What’s [to] change?! I mean, these guys
are hacking my web site. What do you want me to do? Go, ’stop
hacking my web site!’ No, I’m going to kick your ass.
Go ahead, you want to keep playing these games? Play ‘em.
You’re going to lose. You’re going to lose, you can’t
stop the Internet… you cowards all hide on the Internet,
you don’t scare us. We’re going to find you. Believe
me… this is bigger than me. This is bigger than me! This
is bigger than the UFC. You go out there and start acting like
a terrorist? You’re going to get Osama Bin Laden’d.”
Source:
Fight Opinion
|
Ronaldo
‘Jacare’ Souza Meets Derek Brunson at Strikeforce:
Tate vs. Rousey
by Damon
Martin
Undefeated
prospect Derek Brunson will jump into the deep end of Strikeforce’s
middleweight division on March 3 as he faces former champion
Ronaldo ‘Jacare’ Souza at Strikeforce: Tate vs. Rousey.
Brunson
confirmed the fight via his Twitter account on Thursday, stating
that he had just signed his bout agreement for the fight.
At
9-0, Derek Brunson is one of the brightest rising stars under
the Strikeforce banner. A former collegiate wrestler from North
Carolina, Brunson burst onto the scene in Strikeforce in mid-2011
and has gone 3-0 since that time.
Now
Brunson will try to take a big step forward in the middleweight
division, facing a former champion in Ohio.
Ronald
‘Jacare’ Souza returns to action for the first time
since losing his Strikeforce middleweight strap to Luke Rockhold
ironically enough also in Ohio last September.
The
road back to a title shot will start again in the Buckeye state
where he faces Brunson in a battle of middleweight contenders.
Strikeforce:
Tate vs. Rousey takes place on March 3 at the Nationwide Arena
in Columbus, OH.
Source:
MMA Weekly
|
‘Minotouro’
Nogueira wants to KO Gustaffson at UFC Sweden
By Eduardo
Ferreira
Rogerio
“Minotouro” Nogueira is fighting Alexanser Gustafsson
on the first UFC show in Sweden, on April 14, and warned, on
an exclusive interview with TATAME TV, what the fans might hope
of his fight. “I train harder when I’m fighting a striker,
I can do a good fight. I was born a counter attacker and that’s
how I have greater chances to get the knockout… I’ll
go for the knockout until the end”, shoot the Brazilian,
who has knocked out names like Tito Ortiz and Luiz Cane in UFC,
commenting on adapting his lifestyle to UFC, in comparison to
the extinct Pride and his journey ‘step by step’ until
the chance at the title. Check it:
You’re
fighting in Sweden. You’ve asked for a striker and UFC gave
you one.
That’s
right. I train harder when I’m fighting a striker, I really
like training Muay Thai, Boxing. I guess I can do a good fight.
I’m a good fighter in the end of the fights, I can hold
my impulse and do better later, I was born a counter attacker
and that’s how I have greater chances to get the knockout.
Tito Ortiz came to strike against me, and I got the knockout.
Cane tried to sant-up and I got to knock him out. I can do a
good fight against striker. It’s not because I don’t
know Wrestling. Yes, I’m actually a lot better defending
the takedowns, after I left Pride I had to adjust because the
rules and the cage are different. I guess I can fight anywhere,
but I rather stand-up because fans dig the knockouts and I’m
a fighter who likes giving the KO to the fans.
You’re
coming from a great win against Tito Ortiz, a former champion.
Now you’re fighting against a growing athlete. A win can
put you on the line for the title. How are the trainings and
the expectations for the fight?
The
trainings are hard, I’m doing a background check, I’m
working on my strength, my resistance, endurance, focusing on
my conditioning now. I’m getting my body ready to train
hard and begin the sparing sessions. I’m training each modality
separately: Jiu-Jitsu, Wrestling, Boxing, strength, cardio…
So then later I train MMA. The trainings are already tough and
we’re training hard to handle it. There’re three months
to go, but the important thing is starting to train hard two
months before the bout.
Where
do you think a victory against him leaves you at in the division?
Well,
it depends a lot of the win. A win via points makes me move one
step further, a win via knockout, two, three. It depends a lot
on how I win. I really want to get a knockout to be in a good
position. I’m a fighter who doesn’t like to get stuck
during the fight. It’s hard to see me doing that. If I take
someone down, I’ll try to use the ground and pound until
the end. If I’m standing up I’ll go for the knockout.
It’s something like that: if you knock me out, I’ll
knock you out (laughs). I’ll go for the knockout until the
end, absolutely. I’m moving forward. I’ll try to do
a good fight to be in a good spot on this ranking. I’ll
go for the knockout and I’ll stay among the top 3 of the
division.
UFC
is promoting its first event in Sweden and you’re fighting
in the main event of the evening. What do you think about that?
I
can’t complain about UFC. They’re being good for me,
I did a co-main event against Phil Davis and now against Tito
Ortiz it was supposed to be the co-main event, but then they
matched Lyoto up (with Jon Jones) and it was the third fight,
but it’s really a big fight, almost a co-main event. Now
they really know what I’m capable of and they’re really
proving that and I’ll have to prove them right. I have great
responsibility and I know my talent, I know what I can do, so
let’s bet on my experience. I’m much more experience,
I have a bigger name and I’ll bet on my name to bring this
win home.
Source:
Tatame
|
Nick
Diaz: 10 Crazy Moments
By Todd
Martin
Few
figures in MMA are as intriguing as the favorite son of Stockton,
Calif., Nick Diaz. Inside the Octagon, his fighting style is
as crowd-pleasing as they come. Armed with exceptional heart
and courage, he pushes forward and tries to finish from the moment
a fight starts until the moment it ends. It has led to some wild
and unpredictable wars.
Outside
the Octagon, Diaz has been no stranger to controversy. He has
gotten into trouble with promoters, athletic commissions and
other fighters, and the sense that he could do anything at any
time only enhances his appeal. As his longtime trainer, Cesar
Gracie, put it succinctly: “You can’t out-crazy Nick
Diaz.”
As
Diaz fights Carlos Condit for the interim welterweight title
at UFC 143 this Saturday at the Mandalay Bay Events Center in
Las Vegas, he finds himself on the cusp of superstardom. UFC
“Primetime” has shined a spotlight on his unique career
and personality, introducing him to a new base of fans. A fight
with Georges St. Pierre, should Diaz get past Condit, would take
him to an even higher level.
If
Diaz does become one of the UFC’s top stars, it will be
a wild ride. Like former heavyweight boxing champion Mike Tyson,
Diaz is simultaneously uniquely suited for fame and uniquely
unsuited for dealing with the trappings of it. This is an entertaining
but dangerous combination. Already, it has produced no shortage
of wild events. These are 10 crazy moments from Diaz’s MMA
career.
Cocky
Upstart
UFC 47 “It’s On”
April 2, 2004 -- Las Vegas
When
Diaz, at the age of 20, entered the Octagon for the second time,
he was known as a jiu-jitsu specialist. His fight against Robbie
Lawler was thought to be a classic striker-versus-grappler matchup,
so it came as a shock to many when Diaz stood and traded toe-to-toe
with the slugger. The result of their battle would come as even
more of a surprise.
With
pinpoint punches, Diaz got the better of early exchanges with
Lawler. Then, he began to taunt. Lifting his hands up in the
air and daring Lawler to punch him, Diaz showed no fear and gave
no hint of backing off. It seemed like a suicidal strategy against
one of the most powerful punchers in the weight class, but when
Diaz landed a looping right hand to the jaw, Lawler collapsed
face first to the canvas, and the fight was called.
Diaz
had delivered one of the most memorable UFC performances of the
year. A “jiu-jitsu fighter” had stood, taunted and
knocked out one of the welterweight division’s most feared
strikers. Everything about the contest was startling, and Diaz
had demonstrated the approach to fighting that would eventually
make him a champion and star.
Shoe
Tossing Good Time
“The Ultimate Fighter 2” Finale
Nov. 5, 2005 -- Las Vegas
When
the UFC showcased and made into stars a number of young fighters
on “The Ultimate Fighter” reality series, some prominent
veterans expressed resentment at perceived preferential treatment.
Few expressed their aggravation as loudly as Diaz did in the
lead-up to his fight with Diego Sanchez. Diaz and Sanchez waged
a war of words and even exchanged adversarial emails prior to
the bout at “The Ultimate Fighter 2” Finale.
The
tumult did not end when fight night arrived. The match between
Sanchez and Diaz took place at the Hard Rock Hotel and Casino,
a small venue in Las Vegas in which fighters wind up in close
proximity. This led to Diaz famously hurling a shoe at Sanchez
backstage as they were waiting to come out for their fight. Unfortunately
for him, the gesture would not secure Diaz the win. Diaz landed
more total strikes than Sanchez, but “The Dream” connected
with more significant strikes and received a unanimous decision
with 30-27 scores.
Hospital
Brawl
UFC 57 “Liddell vs. Couture 3”
Feb. 4, 2006 -- Las Vegas
Diaz
and Riggs battled it out.
When
Diaz fought Joe Riggs at UFC 57, it was just another competition,
and it fit a pattern of Diaz fights at the time. He outstruck
Riggs by nearly a 2-to-1 margin and was more active working for
submissions on the ground, but Riggs won the judges’ decision
on the basis of takedowns. The fight did not stand out on a night
when Randy Couture and Chuck Liddell completed their classic
trilogy.
What
happened after the fight ended was a completely different story.
Diaz and Riggs were sent to the same hospital. Big mistake. Diaz
began jawing with Riggs inside the hospital, even as Riggs was
being fed fluids through an IV in his arm.
Words
quickly escalated, and Diaz threw the first punch. A wild brawl
broke out in the hospital room, as the two adversaries had to
be separated by police officers. The fight was untelevised, but
hospital attendants and nurses got free front row seats.
Diaz
later explained why he fought with Riggs in the hospital to MMA
Weekly Radio.
“I
ain’t no bitch,” he said. “You know what I mean?
That’s why I said I’ll fight him all night. I’d
fight him right now. If he were here, I’d fight him right
now.”
Gogoplata
for Naught
Pride 33 “Second Coming”
Feb. 24, 2007 -- Las Vegas
Pride
33 was dubbed “Second Coming” for obvious reasons,
as it was the sophomore American show for Japan’s Pride
Fighting Championships promotion. However, it could just as easily
have been a description of Diaz’s performance at the event.
Diaz burst on the scene in the Ultimate Fighting Championship
with his wins over Jeremy Jackson and Lawler but went on to drop
a series of decisions. When Pride signed him to fight its lightweight
champion, Takanori Gomi, at Pride 33, Diaz was viewed as just
another opponent. He had dropped three of his past six fights
and entered the ring as a heavy betting underdog.
If
Gomi did not take Diaz seriously as an opponent, it was an enormous
mistake. The fight turned into a brawl quickly, with Diaz taunting
and throwing up his hands even more wildly than he did against
Lawler. As the two fighters traded power punches, the crowd exploded
with enthusiasm. Gomi connected with much harder blows but Diaz
answered with volume punches, and the Japanese star eventually
wilted under the pressure.
In
the second round, an exhausted Gomi finally took the fight to
the ground. Diaz immediately locked in the exotic gogoplata submission
and coaxed the tapout. It was the crowning victory of Diaz’s
career, full of drama and capped by a spectacular finish -- until
his drug test results were in. Diaz tested positive for a high
amount of marijuana, and the Nevada State Athletic Commission
later elected to switch the result of the bout to a no contest.
The decision was widely criticized, with many arguing that marijuana
simply was not a performance-enhancing drug. Still, the failed
drug test only added to the intrigue surrounding one of the most
talked about fights of 2007.
Familial
Conflict
EliteXC “Return of the King”
June 14, 2008 -- Honolulu
One
Diaz brother is difficult enough to handle. Dealing with two
is an even trickier proposition. After K.J. Noons defeated Yves
Edwards to retain his EliteXC lightweight title in his birthplace
of Hawaii, Diaz was brought into the cage as the next challenger
for Noons’ championship. Noons had with him his father,
a former professional kickboxer. Diaz had with him his younger
brother, “The Ultimate Fighter” Season 5 winner Nate
Diaz. With former professional wrestler Bill Goldberg conducting
the post-fight interview, a tag team brawl broke out: the Diaz
brother duo against the father and son Noons tandem.
Tag
teams are not particularly well suited for legitimate competition,
but it made for an entertaining spectacle in Hawaii. After Noons’
father charged the Diaz brothers, Nick and Nate were escorted
from the cage. They left receiving a negative reaction from the
Hawaiian crowd. They proceeded to give the Noonses the finger
and then flashed their middle fingers at the crowd for good measure.
UFC
color commentator Mike Goldberg would not have labeled the display
classy, but it was prototypical Diaz.
Retiring
a Legend
Strikeforce “Shamrock vs. Diaz”
April 11, 2009 -- San Jose, Calif.
While
Diaz’s fight with Frank Shamrock did not bring with it the
unpredictability of many other moments in his career, it produced
an unlikely result. Diaz, who broke into Bay Area MMA as a teen-ager,
when Shamrock was the king, handed him a loss in the final fight
of his storied career.
Diaz
kicked off the hype for his fight with Shamrock by flipping off
the former Strikeforce and UFC champion. Shamrock had knocked
out Diaz’s mentor, Gracie, and it was played up as a grudge
match. However, during and after the fight, Diaz showed Shamrock
respect. Diaz’s striking was simply too much for Shamrock
to withstand, and the veteran succumbed to a second-round technical
knockout at the HP Pavilion.
After
the fight, Diaz again expressed his respect for his opponent
before Shamrock retired. It was a surprising turn from the often
disrespectful but always authentic Diaz.
Tennessee
Brawl
Strikeforce “Nashville”
April 17, 2010 -- Nashville, Tenn.
Some
eyebrows were raised when UFC President Dana White announced
Nate Diaz and Jim Miller will fight on Fox in May. It certainly
was not because Diaz-Miller made for a bad matchup. However,
the Diaz Brothers are not necessarily custom-made for network
television, and the last time they appeared on the stage was
not coincidentally also the last time CBS ever broadcast MMA.
After
Jake Shields defeated Dan Henderson to retain the Strikeforce
middleweight title, he was interviewed about his win over the
two-time Olympian. Jason “Mayhem” Miller, the next
likely challenger, decided to get in the cage to say a few words
to promote a potential rematch between the two. That proved to
be a mistake. Shields was flanked by stablemates Gilbert Melendez
and the Diaz Brothers. None took too kindly to Miller interrupting
their friend’s victory parade.
Within
seconds, the melee was on. The Diaz Brothers were in the middle
of it, kicking and punching Miller repeatedly. It was not a scene
CBS wanted to see, and it never brought back Strikeforce. Not
that Nick Diaz cared much: he had sent a loud-and-clear message
to someone who had disrespected a training partner and friend.
Epic
Battle
Strikeforce “Diaz vs. Daley”
April 9, 2011 -- San Diego
Diaz
and Daley went to war.
The
typical game plan against Paul Daley was well-known. A particularly
dangerous striker, Daley has proven far from lethal on the ground.
Fighters who stand with Daley almost always lose; fighters who
take down Daley almost always win. However, Diaz does not always
take the easiest path, and so, in his final Strikeforce appearance,
he traded punches with Daley for five minutes in the wildest
round of the year.
When
Diaz and Daley did not touch gloves and began taunting one another
at the start of the fight, it was a harbinger of what was to
come. Daley got the best of Diaz first, flooring him and nearly
finishing it with punches on the ground.
Diaz
worked his way back up to his feet, and the pendulum swung wildly.
Diaz began peppering Daley with shots, forcing the Brit to shoot
for a desperation takedown.
Moments
later, a recuperated Daley returned to his feet and again started
to get the best of the standup exchanges. Diaz went down, and
Daley pounded him with punches and elbows. At the point Diaz
began to recover, Daley backed off. Back on his feet, the tide
again swung in Diaz’s favor. He knocked down Daley and,
this time, was finally able to finish the fight with strikes.
Only three seconds were left in the round.
Diaz-Daley
was a reminder that even Diaz’s craziest moments outside
the cage struggle to compete with the excitement he brings inside
of it.
Public
Relations Penalty
Sept. 7, 2011 -- Las Vegas
UFC
President Dana White is typically forgiving of fighter transgressions.
So when he announced on Sept. 7 that Diaz had been yanked from
a blockbuster welterweight title showdown with Georges St. Pierre
and that he might never again fight for the UFC, it spoke loudly
to how frustrated he was with the controversial California fighter.
Diaz
has never much cared for doing press, and his discomfort with
doing interviews often becomes painfully obvious. Of course,
there are a lot of fighters who dislike doing interviews but
still do them. When Diaz skipped a pair of pre-fight press conferences
to promote his fight with St. Pierre at UFC 137, a fed-up White
removed him from the main event. It was an unprecedented turn
of events in UFC history, and the fighting world was abuzz when
the decision came down.
As
it turned out, White’s leniency still came back to the fore.
Diaz returned to the show in a fight against B.J. Penn, which
wound up as the headliner when St. Pierre injured himself in
training. Now, Diaz will fighting for a UFC title again, albeit
an interim crown, and a bout with St. Pierre later in the year
could be the biggest UFC pay-per-view event in years. Fans may
volunteer to shuttle Diaz to the airport to ensure the fight
goes on.
Triumphant
Return
UFC 137 “Penn vs. Diaz”
Oct. 29, 2011 -- Las Vegas
Some
critics suggested Diaz would not fare well returning to the UFC
for the first time in five years. He had fought against subpar
opposition and would struggle when put in with the UFC’s
elite, they claimed. Those critics were quickly silenced when
Diaz gave B.J. Penn one of the worst beatings of his career over
the course of three rounds in Las Vegas. Penn fought gamely but
could not handle Diaz’s pressure attack. With that, Diaz
announced loudly his presence in the UFC welterweight division.
Diaz
followed up his “Fight of the Night” performance against
Penn with one of the most bizarre post-fight press conferences
in UFC history. A dour Diaz seemed to have little excitement
about winning a main event against a legend or being granted
a title shot in his next fight. Rather, in an almost stream-of-consciousness
series of remarks, he complained about everything from a lack
of training partners to a referee’s decision in a Shields-Jake
Ellenberger bout that had taken place six weeks earlier.
The
coup de grace was a rant about going jogging through nice areas
with fountains and picnic patios and then having to return to
his neighborhood, where people were getting robbed. Diaz sounded
vaguely like 1990s hip hop character The Madd Rapper, but he
made it clear he was not joking. It was just another night in
the career of one of the sport’s most unique figures: a
transcendent fight performance followed by a surreal post-fight
spectacle. Diaz is nothing if not entertaining.
Source
Sherdog
|
My
Network Can Beat Up All of Yours; UFC on Fox 2 Wins Key Demographics
Overall
viewership for UFC on Fox 2 compared to UFC on Fox 1 may be down,
but there were also positive indicators for the MMA juggernaut’s
sophomore effort on “Big Fox.”
The
overall average audience dipped from 5.3 million viewers for
the inaugural UFC on Fox broadcast to 4.7 million for the two-hour-and-19-minute
UFC on Fox 2.
UFC
on Fox 1 was a one-hour telecast that featured the highly anticipated
heavyweight title fight between Cain Velasquez and Junior dos
Santos. UFC on Fox 2 was slated for two hours and a tripleheader
bill on non-title bouts, Rashad Evans vs. Phil Davis headlining.
The
fight between Velasquez and dos Santos piqued at 8.8 million
viewers, the highest of any single MMA fight in broadcast television
history in the United States. The Evans vs. Davis bout was the
high point of UFC on Fox 2, topping out at slightly more than
six million viewers.
Fox
officials are still touting the numbers turned in by UFC on Fox
2, especially in the key advertiser demographics.
UFC
on Fox 2 pulled in an overall national rating of 2.6 for a 5
share. In the coveted Adults 18-49 demographic, the event pulled
a 2.4 ratings, which was only a tenth below the 2.5 total off
all three of the other major broadcast networks (ABC, CBS, and
NBC) combined. In addition to that, Fox trumped the other networks
by dominating the Adults 18-34 demographic, pulling a 2.5 rating
compared to the other three networks combined total of 1.4.
Source:
MMA Weekly
|
MAN
UP AND STAND UP Tomorrow
WAIPAHU FILCOM CENTER, WAIPAHU
SATURDAY, FEBRUARY 4, 2012
DOORS OPEN AT 6:00
DEVON MINA 80 SPIKE KAHALEWAI
NYLEN KUKAHIKO 80-90 RADRAJAH BRAZWELL
BRONSON SARDINHA 200 MARLEY
CHEVEZ ANTOQUE 185 MILLER UALESEI
SCOTT ENDO 185 DAMON TURCOIS
SPENCER QUELL 200 JONAH AFOA
LEE HARPER SHW ALBERT CAMBRA
JADA PEREIRA 112 LISA HA
JUSTIN PACARRO 60 AINSLEY
CHANCE CENO 80 KONA
DAMON APPLEBAUM
SHW BRICESON
AIONA
KAI KUNIMOTO 140 OLA
LUM
GAVIN PAGUYO 185 NAINOA LEFLER
BARNAIRE MADALORA 160 JON BURGESS
DONALD PETERS 140 TOFI MIKA
FATS VAISAU 175 LOMBARD MADALORA
JEFF LAGAMAN 145 NEVADA HARRISON
CHANTE STAFFORD 115 NELSON KUKAHIKO
EUGENE
ANGUAY 130
THOMAS REYES
JUSTIN KAHALEWAI 135 ANTHONY REYES
NATHAN WOODE 125 KALAI
KWAN
DARRYL DANO 150 SHAWN MIYAHARA
FREDDY RAMAYLA 145 JORDAN TIMBLE
JENNA GANABAN 135 ALSHADAINE MONTIRA
LAAKEA 160 MATT FISHER
All
matches & participants may be subject to change.
Source: Derrick Bright
|
UFC
143 Tomorrow
Mandalay Bay Events Center, Las Vegas, NV
Saturday, February 4, 2012
Hawaii
Air Time:
Preliminaries 3:00-5:00PM Channel 554 (FX)
Event 5:00-8:00PM Channel 701
Dark matches
Middleweights: Rafael Natal vs. Michael Kuiper
Welterweights: Dan Stittgen vs. Stephen Thompson
Welterweights: Matt Brown vs. Chris Cope
Bantamweights: Bruce Leeroy vs. Edwin Figueroa
Welterweights: Matt Riddle vs. Jorge Lopez
Featherweights: Dustin Poirier vs. Max Holloway
Main card
Middleweights: Ed Herman (-250, 5 to 2 favorite) vs. Cliff Starks
(+200)
Bantamweights: Renan Barao (-250, 5 to 2 favorite) vs. Scott
Jorgensen (+200)
Welterweights: Josh Koscheck (-260, 13 to 5 favorite) vs. Mike
Pierce (+200)
Heavyweights: Roy Nelson vs. Fabricio Werdum (PICK ‘EM)
Welterweight eliminator (interim championship): Nick Diaz (-180)
vs. Carlos Condit (+150)
Source: Fight Opinion
|
Pros
Pick: Diaz vs. Condit
By Mike Sloan
The Ultimate Fighting Championship’s annual Super Bowl weekend
event has set the stage for some of the sport’s more memorable
moments.
UFC
143 on Saturday at the Mandalay Bay Events Center in Las Vegas
could do more of the same, as Nick Diaz meets Carlos Condit for
the interim welterweight championship in the five-round headliner.
The winner figures to move on to a unification bout with Georges
St. Pierre, once the reigning 170-pound king recovers from reconstructive
knee surgery.
Sherdog.com
caught up with a number of professional fighters and trainers
to gauge their opinions on the UFC 143 “Diaz vs. Condit”
main event:
Ricardo
Liborio: Diaz by decision. Amazing matchup.
Mike
Ciesnolevicz: I am so much more excited about this fight than
I was now that GSP is not included. I probably would not have
watched if GSP was fighting. I don’t like to go to bed that
early on the weekends, and he would surely put me to bed faster
than if I chugged a bottle of Nyquil. I know this fight will
be super exciting. It’s actually one of the best possible
fights I can think of as a fight fan. As for the skill sets and
strategy, I believe Diaz has the punching advantage and Condit
is better with knees and kicks. I think neither guy has great
wrestling, so that should cancel out. In the Brazilian jiu-jitsu
department, Diaz has the advantage, although Condit is surely
[at a] black belt level himself. Just like most of the Diaz fights
I have seen of late, this will come down to pace and cardio and
the relentless attack. I believe Condit is a beast and has excellent
strength and conditioning, but Diaz will wear him out and take
over as the fight progresses. I am calling Diaz by unanimous
decision in a “Fight of the Year” candidate.
Gabe
Ruediger: It’s going to be a great fight. Both guys come
in ready and just fight. I think Diaz has the hardest time with
controlling wrestlers, which Condit is not. Diaz wins by late
sub or TKO.
Keith
Berry: I really want Condit in this fight. I think the “Natural
Born Killer” will rise to the occasion and get the decision.
Bart
Palaszewski:. Personally, I’m pulling for Carlos.
Mark
Bocek: Diaz [wins], I think, but it’s a good fight, [with]
high-volume punching from Nick. But Condit beat Ellenberger ...
it’s a great fight. Whoever makes the first mistake will
lose.
Condit
is an underdog to the pros.
Jim Hettes: I gotta go with Diaz, not just because of his outstanding
combination of jiu-jitsu and boxing, but [because] being employed
by the UFC means I might actually come face-to-face with one
of these fighters. I’m willing to bet Diaz will actually
beat me up for picking against him (laughs), so let’s go
Diaz.
Shane
Roller: Close fight -- leaning towards Condit.
Travis
Wiuff: Diaz is unbeatable right now. I don’t see anyone
beating him, including GSP. Diaz wins by TKO in the third round
after the ref stops the fight.
Kyle
Kingsbury: I got Diaz winning by chanting “209” until
Condit taps.
Javier
Vazquez: These are two of my favorite fighters. I think it's
going to be a great fight [and] it’s going to be a back-and-forth
war. I think Diaz is going to set a crazy pace and try to take
Condit into deep water. I think, eventually, Diaz will be too
much for Condit and will either submit him in the fifth round
or will stop him via TKO in the fifth.
Nam
Phan: Diaz all the way.
Ben
Askren: I think Diaz will win. His standup has continued to improve,
[and] I think he will out-strike Condit. We already know Diaz
has him if it goes to the ground, so I think, barring a KO, Diaz
takes it.
Johny
Hendricks: Man, I am thinking that Carlos is going to win. He
has heavy hands and good BJJ. I know Nick is the same type of
fighter, which will [make for] a great fight to watch for the
fans. I just think Carlos is going to win.
Alan
Belcher: Diaz all the way. I roll with the 209.
Michael
Guymon: Diaz-Condit is so evenly matched in my eyes. I just see
Diaz winning this one with his constant pressure style.
John
Hackleman: I have Court McGee sitting right here next to me,
and we both kind of agree. We both think Nick-Condit is going
to be a lot like Nate [Diaz] and [Donald] Cerrone. Nick is a
lot like Nate in style, and Cerrone’s style is a lot like
Condit’s style. I think it’ll turn out the same. I
think Condit will be sharper and land early. He might even cut
Nick, heaven forbid. That’ll be a first (laughs). But I
think Nick is going to weather an early storm, throw sharper
techniques and he’s going to plow forward like he always
does. I think he’s going to stop him in the third. So, yeah,
the styles are the same, and it’s an interesting matchup
because of that.
Joe
Duarte: I got Diaz. He is as tough as they come. He probably
even mouthwashes with bleach. Condit is good, but this one is
going to come down to who is tougher. Diaz takes it.
Jeff
Hougland: I can’t wait for this fight. I am a fan of both
of these guys’ style. They are both well-rounded and don’t
just fight to win; they fight to hurt their opponents. I think
all the fans watching are in for an amazing fight. My pick is
Diaz by third- or fourth-round TKO. I grew up in the 209, so
I always root for the Diaz Brothers.
Benji
Radach: This is going to be an awesome fight, but I gotta pull
for Diaz. Both fighters are talented, but I think Diaz’s
boxing is going to deliver the victory.
Pros
Picking Diaz: 15
Pros Picking Condit: 3
No Pick: 2
Source:
Sherdog
|
MMA
Link Club: A connection between weight cutting & PED usage
By Zach
Arnold
King
Mo and his manager, Mike Kogan, did the media rounds everywhere
yesterday to basically go on the offensive in terms of public
relations. If you’re looking for a summary of what their
stance is on the failed Nevada drug test for masteron (drostanolone),
you can read an in-depth summary here.
Masteron
is known for being used to help recovery time and/or keep lean
muscle for those who do weight cutting. In other words, it’s
a ‘good’ drug for MMA fighters who are looking to use
something for performance enhancing benefits. One of the connections
that no one has made yet is the fact that in many PED cases where
guys got busted on drug tests, the drugs in question are less
about bulk and more about maintaining strength while minimizing
weight gain.
Both
steroid usage & weight cutting can damage the body’s
endocrine system. If you’re a steroid user, you use drugs,
damage your endocrine system, and end up using synthetic testosterone
to get your endocrine system back to ‘normal’ because
you damaged your body with steroids. It’s double-dipping.
With weight cutting, you damage your body and you end up using
testosterone (steroids) because your body can’t naturally
produce what is needed.
I
bring this up because I wanted to recall a recent interview that
Dr. Johnny Benjamin did with Mauro Ranallo about Anthony Johnson’s
massive weight cutting problems. I hate the concept of weight
cutting in MMA that involves dropping down more than one weight
class from your normal weight… but I suppose I’m in
the minority. The idea of guys cutting 30, 40, even 50 pounds
to make a weight limit is completely unhealthy and sickening
to think about given the damage you are doing to your body.
Dr.
Benjamin’s message about Anthony Johnson: don’t hate
the player, hate the game.
“All
the blame is getting placed on Anthony Johnson but, unfortunately,
we reward guys for being able to cut weight to fight at a weight
class that is not their own. So, everybody’s throwing Anthony
Johnson under the bus and, yes, he missed and he’s missed
it before (but) he can get rewarded for that because when he
come in for fight night 20 or 30 pounds larger than his competitor
and maybe 40 or 50 pounds greater than the limit for the weight
class, that’s really in his best interest if he wants to
proceed up the ladder in the UFC.”
Dr.
Benjamin says that it’s time for UFC to implement a regulated
weight-cutting policy for its fighters. Why the onus on UFC?
Because what UFC wants, UFC gets and they can set the tone.
“(There
are) some very serious health concerns (with weight cutting).
I mean, the one that everybody thinks about is kidney damage
or kidney failure. It happens. Everybody says, ‘oh, it’s
not that big deal.’ The hell it’s not! Go spend an
hour at a dialysis center and watch someone take every drop of
blood taken from their bodies and put through a machine and ask
them how big of a deal it is to have to do that three times a
week just to live. I mean, your kidneys are at risk. The other
thing that people don’t consider is your brain is at risk
because water makes up 97% of the CSF, the Cerebral Spinal Fluid,
that’s the fluid that is around the brain that protects
and cushion the brains from blows. So, any time you lose massive
amounts of water you shrink the amount of cushioning and protection
that there is around the brain. Now you’re going to ask
Vitor Belfort to punch you in the face, it’s a bad combination.
“People
always say, ‘hey, what’s the solution? There is no
solution, this is a time-honored tradition.’ There’s
a lot of things that we’ve done for a long time that didn’t
make sense and people always say, ‘well, these guys have
been doing it since High School, most of them are wrestlers,
they know how to do it.’ Just because you’ve done something
for a long time doesn’t make it safe. My uncle, you know,
drives with no seat belt and he’s done it forever. It doesn’t
make it safe. Rides a motorcycle with no helmet, doesn’t
make it safe just because you’ve done it forever. It makes
you particularly lucky.
“The
thing that I would say is simple — find out what the person’s
normal weight is … it’s really simple. All you do is
show up and weigh the guy when he’s not training, when he
knows he doesn’t have a fight coming up. And let’s
think how simple that’d really be — when you go to
a normal UFC fight in Las Vegas, how many other fighters who
are not on the card are there on that night? Dozen? 20 or more?
There’s a lot of fighters around. Hey, throw a scale down,
make them get on it. Three or four times a year, check the fighters,
put them on the scale, and get an average of what their walking-around
weight is. And guess what, if a guy normally walks around at
200 pounds, you say you know what? The new rule’s going
to be you can’t fight at a weight class less than 90% of
your normal weight. So, if a guy normally walks around from the
three or four times you caught them for random weigh-ins throughout
the year, if his average weight comes out to be 200 pounds you
say, you know what, 90% of 200 is 180 pounds. That means the
least you can fight at is at Middleweight. I don’t care
what you can cut your body down to, we want you fighting at a
fair weight. You’ve been given 10% that you can cut your
body weight and that’s it.
“There
were plenty of media reports that said that 7-to-10 days before
the fight, [Anthony Johnson] was walking around at 215 (pounds).
Well, wait a minute… 7 to 10 days he’s 215 but he has
to fight at 185? So, this guy’s got another 30 pounds to
lose in 10 days? That’s ridiculous. I mean, he should be
no more than 5% above that body weight the week to go out.”
As
for his thoughts on the King Mo suspension: King Mo acknowledges
taking an OTC testosterone (T) supplement. Everyone knows that
altering T levels is banned. Doesn’t really make sense.
Officially no difference where the testosterone comes from. All
sources are banned. He appears to be saying that he took an OTC
supplement T booster with a precursor in it that breaks down
to T.
Source:
Fight Opinion
|
NICK
DIAZ 'SICK' OF GEORGES ST-PIERRE OVERSHADOWING CARLOS CONDIT
By Mike
Chiappetta - Senior Writer
Feb
2, 2012 - One thing can be certain after Thursday afternoon's
UFC 143 press conference: Nick Diaz has a great deal of respect
for Carlos Condit. Breaking custom, he even shook Condit's hand
after the two posed for photographers at the conclusion of the
event, held at the Mandalay Bay Hotel & Casino in Las Vegas.
It was a noticeable change for Diaz, who has flipped off, shoved
and otherwise attempted to menace several prospective opponents
in the days before a fight.
But
this Diaz was different: quiet, mellow and reserved. There were
no outbursts or complaints about respect. There were no scathing
criticisms of anything surrounding the sport. In fact, he saved
his only prolonged oration to defend his opponent.
Yes,
Diaz came to the side of Condit, after being asked about Georges
St-Pierre overshadowing Condit in the lead-up to UFC 143.
"Yeah,
I think it makes me sick," he said. "This is Carlos’
time to be here, and to be a part of this main event. This is
... half of the show is built up around me fighting Georges St-Pierre.
But that's not [right]. I’m fighting Carlos Condit. So,
I don't like it."
As
Diaz observed, St-Pierre has been noticeably visible during event
week, even holding court with reporters on Wednesday to offer
a status update on his injured knee. Of course, he also spoke
about the UFC 143 main event, saying that he "hopes and
prays" Diaz wins, so that he eventually gets to fight him.
Because
of that, along with the contrasting archetypes the two represent,
Condit has been something of an odd-man out, even though he has
the chance to play spoiler to the story line and capture the
interim welterweight title in the process.
Diaz
reiterated his belief that Condit is actually a more dangerous
foe than St-Pierre is, meaning that quite literally. As in, Condit
is much more likely to do physical harm in an octagon than St-Pierre
is.
"You’re
more in danger of losing a decision to Georges St-Pierre,"
he said. "I think you’re more in danger of losing your
teeth if you're fighting Condit here."
Aside
from those two telling answers, Diaz seemed a bit unengaged in
the proceedings, asking reporters to repeat questions on at least
two occasions. Contrary to his normal, digressive speaking style,
he was short and concise, rarely offering more than a one-sentence
response.
Of
course, that's not that unusual for fighters who are making their
final weight cut, but Diaz is facing a whole new level of scrutiny
as he's ascended up the welterweight rankings and become seen
as a real threat to St-Pierre.
All
of that buildup will essentially be wasted if Condit pulls the
mild upset (Diaz is about a 2-to-1 favorite). Condit has won
12 of his last 13 fights, so the suggestion that the fight is
a gimme for Diaz is a ridiculous assertion.
Condit
himself admitted that at times, it's felt that the St-Pierre
vs. Diaz fight is being planned "before this one even happens,"
but likes his chances of playing spoiler. Regardless, he suggested
that while fans may be clamoring for St-Pierre vs. Diaz, they
may be missing a gem right under their noses.
"I
expect a war," he said. "Honestly, Nick is probably
the toughest dude I've ever fought. He's well-rounded, he has
a pretty dynamic skill set. He's pretty similar to me. We both
come to fight. No matter who wins, fans are going to win because
it’s going to be a phenomenal fight."
Source:
MMA Fighting
|
Not
Looking Past Nelson, Werdum Eyes Overeem Rubber Match
LAS
VEGAS – It’s been more than three years since Fabricio
Werdum set foot in the Octagon. He returns Saturday night in
Sin City to face Roy Nelson at UFC 143… and it is but the
first step in what Werdum expects to be many battles under the
UFC banner.
Though
he won’t look past Nelson, Werdum surely wants a rematch
with current No. 1 heavyweight contender Alistair Overeem, whom
he has split two fights with in the past, most recently losing
to him at Strikeforce this past June.
“Yes,
I want to fight (Overeem) again,” said Werdum. “But
it’s not my next goal, now my next goal now is Roy Nelson,
that’s it.”
Roy
Nelson: If You Punch a Guy More in the Face, You Win
LAS
VEGAS – For whatever reason, Roy Nelson’s fight against
Fabricio Werdum at UFC 143 isn’t getting much attention,
whether it be a lack of interest or a lack of promotion.
Regardless,
Nelson knows how important this fight is. It’s not the fact
that he’s welcoming Werdum back to the UFC; it’s the
fact that this fight positions the winner as one of the top contenders
to the belt current held by UFC heavyweight champion Junior dos
Santos.
“It’s
definitely one of those big game changers,” said Nelson,
who believes he’s got a tough task on his hands come Saturday
night.
“He’s
definitely, the older he’s gotten, he’s gotten better,
so I’m getting the best Fabricio out there.”
But
best Werdum or not, Nelson knows that magic formula to winning,
“You punch a guy more in the face, you’re definitely
going to win.”
Source:
MMA Weekly
|
Minotauro
says he’ll be at Abu Dhabi tryouts in Gramado, even Dilma
watching Jiu-Jitsu
Mohamad
Jehad
Besides
funding an outreach project for needy kids in Rio de Janeiro
with his own money, Jiu-Jitsu and MMA star Rodrigo “Minotauro”
Nogueira is now using his image to draw society’s attention
to young people in other places, as GRACIEMAG.com found out.
Ever
since he first started appearing in the media, the onetime interim
champion of the UFC heavyweight division has gone out of his
way to share his life experience with kids needing inspiration.
At 11 years of age, as is now common knowledge, Rodrigo suffered
a serious accident in which he was run over by a truck, and martial
arts was the path he sought to making a full recovery.
RODRIGO
MINOTAURO’S 40
At
the invitation of the Jiu-Jitsu federation of the Brazilian state
of Rio Grande do Sul, Minotauro is set to take part in a workshop
for kids during the March 3 and 4 Gramado leg of the South American
tryouts for the WPJJ. The federation will pick 40 kids from four
municipalities to participate in the tryouts, take a tour of
the city, and later meet with the superstar at a mat set up in
the city center.
The
idea arose at a meeting between the tryouts organizers and sponsors,
who brought up the need for the event to address social responsibility.
DILMA,
JIU-JITSU AND SOCIAL ADVANCES
Kevin
Krieger, president of Fundação de Assistência
Social e Cidadania (foundation for social assistance and citizenship)
of the city of Porto Alegre, implemented Projeto Arte Suave (gentle
art project) in high risk areas of the city, and now Jiu-Jitsu
has joined the fight against society’s problems in the metropolis.
Krieger commented on the idea:
“Minotauro
is undeniably a national hero. His story speaks for itself. We’ve
made some major advances and our goal is to get kids off the
street by appealing to them through Jiu-Jitsu, and he is here
to help us out in our efforst. I hope more public administrators
join us in sharing our vision for the good of the children,”
said Kevin, who has already presented some of the strides they
have made to President Dilma Roussef.
For
athletse interested in competing at the tryouts in Gramado, they
are open only to South Americans, and sign-ups can be performed
at www.abudhabiprojj.com,
The
winners earn a trip to Abu Dhabi for the main event in April.
In
the USA, the final qualifying tournament for the main event in
the Emirates will take place March 10 and 11 in San Diego, California.
Source:
Gracie Magazine
|
Carano
Watch: “Haywire” Fizzles, Nets Only $9 Million in Opening
Weekend
You
see, Potato Nation? This is why we can’t have nice things.
Continuing the decades-old trend of movie going audiences and
critics having the exact opposite opinion of what correlates
a decent film, the Gina Carano starring, Steven Soderbergh directed
action thriller Haywire opened with a measly 9 million dollars.
This, in a weekend that saw Underworld: Rise and Fall of Vamipirous
Werewolves 3:The Awakening’s Resolution take in over 25
million and Marky Mark Action Movie #346 take in over 12 million.
Now,
it is a well known fact that most movie studios save their biggest
cinematic turds for January (this is the month that brought us
Season of the Witch, people), but this has to be a disheartening,
if not foreboding sign to Gina Carano 2.0, or whatever we refer
to her as now that she isn’t actually fighting MMA anymore.
Is it too early to write her off? Of course; that moment will
come after one of us manages to get off our lazy asses and check
out the movie. Shit, I still haven’t seen Warrior, and I
watch a disturbing amount of movies.
As
you’ve already heard, the critics thus far have praised
Haywire for its stripped down feel and intense pace, scoring
it an 82% on the Tomatometer. Audiences, on the other hand, have
unanimously trounced Haywire, giving it a D+ on Cinemascore.
These are the same audiences, mind you, that gave Transformers:
Baygasm an A.
[*Pours
first glass of scotch for the day.*]
And
could you guess which film achieved the lowest score on the Tomatometer
and the highest on CinemaScore? That’s right, Underworld
Colon Lycan Power 4. As a man with a near crippling latex fetish,
I can slightly understand this, because no one rocks the tighty
nighties better than Kate Beckinsale, but God dammit people,
seriously?
The
good news, if any, is that Haywire cost a mere 23 million dollars
to make, and will likely earn its investment back, barring a
huge second week drop ala The Devil Inside. And considering that
Warrior only opened with 5 million dollars, Haywire could be
looked at as a step in the right direction, right? I ask unto
you, Potato Nation, has anyone actually seen this thing yet?
Source:
Fight Opinion
|
Demian’s
strategy against Weidman was to use his BJJ, not striking
By Guilherme
Cruz
Demian Maia was not as good as expected against Chris Weidman
at UFC on FOX 2, which happened last Saturday, and ended up being
beat on a unanimous decision of the judges. The BJJ black belt
kept trading punching on the stand-up during the entire fight,
and his Boxing coach, Luiz Carlos Dorea, revealed it was not
the game plan they had set for the bout.
“It wasn’t what we expected. We wanted him to use Boxing
moves to try to take him down or bring him to the guard and use
his Jiu-Jitsu. He focused a lot in Jiu-Jitsu on his trainings,
but he kept fighting on his feet”, explains Dorea.
Frustrated on the stand-up, Demian tried to take his opponent
down on the following rounds, but was not successful. “He
couldn’t find the right distance to take him down and, when
he tried, he was already tired. So it wasn’t like we were
expecting it to go”, regrets.
At the end of the bout, the announcer Bruce Buffer also announced
wrongly the scores, informed Demian had won on the judges’
score card. But not even that gave Demian hope of a possible
win, on a split decision.
“We knew he had loss because it was even on the stand-up,
but the takedowns made the difference. The guy took him down
in every round, always in the end, and he worked on that. he
used the rules in his favor”, says.
Source: Tatame
|
Why
the sports media are turning their fire on UFC
By Zach
Arnold
It
is no secret in the MMA online community that the viewpoint of
UFC towards MMA writers is extremely hostile. Hell, we have been
debating this forever and a day. Everyone already has picked
a side on this issue as to whether or not MMA writers, mostly
from web sites, should get credentialed to go to UFC events.
The attitude on behalf of Zuffa has been the following: hey,
we’re doing you a favor, shut up and play by our rules.
Rather than play the politics & optics right on this issue,
most MMA writers have demonstrated a high level of sycophantic
behavior that has only buttressed the arguments that Zuffa officials
have made in regards to why they have the media policy as currently
implemented.
It’s
not just management that is often hostile to MMA media writers,
either. There are plenty of fighters who have the attitude that
writers should be grateful that said fighters are even giving
them a limited amount of time to talk for interviews or to get
comments for various stories. Instead of demonstrating integrity
and independence, most MMA writers cower down and ‘play
the game.’ No fighter has been more shallow & demonstrative
on this front than Chael Sonnen. He attacks the media because
he knows most media members are weak & will eat a crap sandwich
if it means they get web page traffic. Chael’s bombastic
blustering towards the media would make Newt Gingrich blush.
On
Wednesday afternoon, Sonnen gave us a perfect example of this
when he went on the attack against Kenny Rice & HDNet, repeatedly
calling Rice a liar.
The
issue of UFC and its fighters beating up on the media is an old
& tired issue… which is why I found it extremely curious
that CBS Sports columnist & flame thrower Gregg Doyel decided
to bring up the issue yesterday in his column online. Doyel basically
admits that he is a UFC fanboy but that he’s all of a sudden
had a change in heart to speak truth to power in only a way he
possibly can. The timing of this attack raised my eyebrows.
Why?
Because a sports writer protesting about treatment of MMA writers
by Zuffa is as curious as ESPN going on the attack against UFC
on the issue of fighter pay. Again, just like execrable UFC/media
relations is old hat, the issue of UFC/fighter pay is an issue
that has been debated for many years online. So why are these
topics being brought up all of a sudden by the general sports
media? Doyel claims that he’s protesting the way UFC treats
MMA writers because, hey, someone has to stand up to those bullies.
ESPN said that the FTC investigation is the reason that they
started their report about how much fighters under the Zuffa
umbrella make.
To
me, the FTC investigation as the impetus for why the sports media
are speaking out against UFC makes little to no logical sense.
If I didn’t know any better, I would suspect that there’s
a sports media mailing list ala Journolist style where UFC has
suddenly become a hot talking point or easy target point to coordinate
against to generate manufactured article content. If you want
to argue ‘better letter than never,’ fine, but that’s
not the road I’m going down here in this article. Our friend
Larry Brown advises that CBS/Viacom owning Bellator should be
taken into consideration here for motive.
With
no apparent logical reason on the surface as to why UFC is getting
incoming fire from the general sports media, one has to make
an educated guess as to why these attacks are starting to appear.
The only semi-logical answer I can come up with is the following:
UFC’s
boorish PR response to ESPN’s report about UFC fighter pay
now has the general sports media, which largely has been skeptical
of the rise of MMA and has largely detested the behavior of Dana
White, smelling blood in the water. You have to admit, if you
are a UFC fan you, too, probably came away with a ‘what
is UFC hiding?’ vibe to the ham-handed PR campaign UFC launched
against Outside the Lines. The OTL story was a rather benign
story as far as having any sort of impact on UFC’s core
business model and, yet, given the way Zuffa overreacted and
gave ESPN some oxygen & free PR for it… there’s
probably reason to think that this overreaction now has sport
media types that were afraid to comment on UFC in the past a
path now to launch some attacks.
Dana
White is giving the sports media all the ammunition they could
possibly want to go after him. We all know about his infamous
Youtube video rant against Loretta Hunt. Now that topic is being
brought up by Gregg Doyel in his CBS column.
The
sport media, in general, is beginning to launch a series of attacks
on Dana White on big platforms and is ready to launch a public
case against him in similar fashion to a prosecutor laying out
a criminal case. First, bring up all the old ‘evidence’
that has been discussed on MMA web sites in the past but not
on major sports sites. Once you build up a foundation for a narrative
in this manner, then you can bring up recent examples (like Dana
White constantly attacking fans on Twitter) and start fusing
a media narrative by waiting for Dana to say some more stupid
things. Once you start building up that media narrative, it snowballs
quickly and becomes very easy to use in a broad & generalized
attack.
Dana
White is not helping his own cause. I stated last November that
his stance on backing SOPA & ProtectIP would become a demerit
used against him. Then the UFC web site got hacked and Dana’s
response to that was boorish in nature, especially given that
people have ordered PPVs through the UFC web site and have given
their personal financial information for said transactions. Dana’s
response to this situation today? He’s taunting the hackers
to go after him again and he isn’t too worried about the
feelings of those who ordered PPVs through the web site.
And,
right on cue, the hackers went after Dana White this time around.
Dana’s response to the hack attacks tonight? Get into Twitter
flame wars with the hackers, which is prompting the hackers to
claim that they will do more document dumps. Dana here is tone
deaf and clueless, which feeds right into the narrative that
ESPN & CBS is starting to cultivate against him in a negative
campaign.
I
know a thing or two about the effects of elongated negative media
campaigns against an MMA entity. (See: Shukan Gendai taking down
PRIDE.)
As
much fault as I give to Dana White & UFC in the way they
have handled these affairs, I also find great irony in Gregg
Doyel’s attack against UFC. In his zeal to speak truth to
power against Zuffa, he’s all but admitting that he loved
sucking up to Zuffa in order to get credentialed to go to shows.
His admission that only now he cares about the plight of MMA
writers basically implicates him (like many in other fields of
the sports media) as cowardly and not willing to stand up for
what’s right unless there’s a self-promotional benefit
at stake. Only now is our brave warrior interested in speaking
out about a topic that has been discussed ad nauseam in MMA circles
for years?
As
you often see with flame-throwing writers like Gregg Doyel, the
most damaging & incriminating quotes are the ones the flame-throwers
often write themselves.
To
give you a real-life, real-time contrasting example of Gregg
Doyel’s truth to power spiel versus a more genuine truth
to power response, I present to you Mike Florio and his 100%
correct defense of now-former Cleveland Browns sports writer
Tony Grossi who lost his newspaper beat position job after The
Cleveland Plain Dealer decided to give Grossi the demotion for
an ‘insulting’ tweet about Browns owner Randy Lerner.
Unlike our brave warrior Mr. Doyel, Mike Florio made an immediate
and full-throated defense of an obvious case of blowback &
intimidation. It won’t save Tony Grossi’s job, but
it was the right thing for Mike to say. He didn’t sit on
the sidelines and say nothing about the story only to speak truth
to power years later after receiving benefits for being a professional
suck-up.
A
pox on all the houses of those who are hypocritical on this matter.
Source:
Fight Opinion
|
Tom
DeBlass – The Way of the Samurai
by Damon
Martin
In
the world of MMA, most times the competitors that step into the
cage or ring are referred to as fighters, but for New Jersey’s
Tom DeBlass, he wants to be known as a martial artist.
DeBlass, who is a long time student of retired UFC competitor
Ricardo Almeida, learned long ago that he’s not involved
in MMA because he wants to talk the most trash or hype up a fight.
He’s there to carry on the traditions that his teacher taught
him, and his teacher before him.
He
carries a sense of respect, honor and tradition with him whenever
he steps foot in the cage. It’s something that DeBlass learned
early on from Almeida, and he’s carried it with him everyday
since.
“Ricardo’s
a gentleman rather than just a fighter. I don’t think you’d
ever hear Ricardo be disrespectful, you couldn’t hear anyone
say a bad word about him. Unfortunately, a lot of MMA guys now
have a persona almost of a WWE wrestler, ‘I’m going
to smash this guy, I’m going to beat this guy’ and
I think with Ricardo and he really lived the way of the warrior.
Almost the samurai approach,” said DeBlass when speaking
with MMAWeekly.com.
“I
know myself I’ve done the same. I’ve been with him
since I was 20 and I’m 29 now, he actually molds who you
are as a person in many ways.”
It’s
that certain code of honor that DeBlass learned from Almeida
that he uses whenever he prepares for his own fights. Currently
6-0 as a pro fighter, looking to move to 7-0 with his next fight
in Ring of Combat in February, DeBlass is carrying on a proud
tradition in the Gracie family.
From
the lessons handed down from Renzo Gracie to Ricardo Almeida,
the Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu instructor now passes those down to DeBlass.
With that knowledge, DeBlass hopes to one day pass the torch
to his students, but for now he’s carrying the family flag
himself into the cage every time he competes.
“As
a martial arts instructor, it’s what my teacher did, it’s
what my teacher’s teacher did. I never wanted to be an instructor,
I wanted to be the instructor that my students can say ‘yeah,
my instructor did that.’. I never wanted to be an instructor
that gives orders, but never does. I always want to step up to
the plate and prove who I am. Not just with winning, I’ve
been lucky in that sense, but just to prove that I am who I say
I am,” said DeBlass.
“It’s
what Ricardo did, it’s what Renzo did, it’s in the
bloodline. Even though we may not share the same blood, it’s
in the bloodline, it’s what we do, it’s what warriors
do.”
“Those
who shed blood with me will forever be my brother.”
That’s
what Almeida told DeBlass a long time ago after learning the
same from his instructor Renzo Gracie. While DeBlass isn’t
actually related to Almeida or Gracie by blood, they are family
and like all of the teammates that work under the Gracie name,
they are like brothers and sisters.
From
UFC lightweight champion Frankie Edgar to former welterweight
champion Matt Serra, the Gracie bloodline flows through the team
and with each new branch that grows in the family tree, the tradition
carries on.
DeBlass
is proud to be the latest family member to be able to bring the
Gracie tradition to MMA through his own blood, sweat and tears.
“We
joke around, we have fun, we fool around always, but when it
comes time to train, we battle. It’s a great deal of pride
we carry into that cage,” DeBlass stated. “It’s
us in there together. I want to fight hard for my team.”
With
a perfect record thus far in MMA, DeBlass is carrying that flag
proudly and he will look to do so again in his next fight in
February. If all goes well, then it might be time for DeBlass
to make his next move, something his teacher did, and his teacher
did before him.
“As
long as I’m fighting, my goal is to be the best in the world.
Anything I do, I want to be the best in the world,” DeBlass
said.
“Right
now, the goal is to get in the UFC. I think I’m improving
at a fast rate with the help of my coaches, Mark Henry, Professor
Ricardo, and I’m a man on a mission right now.”
Source:
MMA Weekly
|
Matches
to Make After UFC on Fox 2
Rashad
Evans wanted Jon Jones. Barring an injury, he will get him.
Evans
dispatched previously undefeated four-time NCAA All-American
wrestler Phil Davis with surprising ease in the UFC on Fox 2
main event on Saturday at the United Center in Chicago, utilizing
his superior all-around skills in capturing a woefully one-sided
unanimous decision -- 50-45 from all three judges. The still-green
Davis, who figures to benefit from the experience, was never
a factor in the fight.
The
result clears the way for the long-awaited Jones-Evans grudge
match. Former training partners turned sworn enemies, the backstory
between the two has been covered ad nauseum.
A
knee injury to Evans ahead of his scheduled title fight with
then champion Mauricio “Shogun” Rua at UFC 128 in March
opened the door for Jones, who stepped up in his stead. “Bones”
demolished Rua inside of three rounds to become the youngest
champion in Ultimate Fighting Championship history and went on
to defend the crown against two former titleholders: Quinton
“Rampage” Jackson at UFC 135 and Lyoto Machida at UFC
140. Evans left the Jackson’s Mixed Martial Arts camp for
the upstart Imperial Athletics dojo shortly after, and the two
men have feuded publicly ever since.
In
what amounted to a tune-up fight in hindsight, Evans bested Davis
in every facet, moving into the mounted crucifix position on
three different occasions in the five-round bout. According to
FightMetric.com figures, Evans outlanded Davis 106-61 in total
strikes, 98-22 in strikes to the head. He also was successful
on three of the four takedowns he tried, achieved side control
three times and seized Davis’ back once. All his performance
lacked was a finish.
With
that, Jones-Evans becomes a given. In wake of UFC on Fox 2, here
are five other matches we want to see made:
Anderson
Silva vs. Chael Sonnen: He did not set the world on fire against
“The Ultimate Fighter” Season 3 winner Michael Bisping,
but Sonnen’s strong third round gave rise to a unanimous
decision and set in motion the rematch with Silva, a man who
has held the middleweight crown for more than five years now.
The two met at UFC 117, where Silva, nursing a pre-fight rib
injury, landed a triangle armbar for a dramatic fifth-round submission.
Sonnen later tested positive and was suspended for suspected
use of performance-enhancing drugs. Perhaps their second encounter,
ticketed for a stadium show in Brazil this summer, will settle
their score.
Phil
Davis vs. Ryan Bader: Life as an elite light heavyweight may
be in Davis’ future, but, for now, he remains a largely
unproven commodity with plenty of questions to answers. His lopsided
decision loss to Evans highlighted the holes in his game and
showed Davis was not yet ready for what the alpha males in the
division have to offer. Still, “Mr. Wonderful” does
not turn 28 until September, giving him more than enough time
to fulfill his considerable promise. Bader finds himself at a
similar stage in his career, though he bounced back from consecutive
defeats to Jones and Tito Ortiz with a 77-second knockout against
Jason Brilz at UFC 139. “The Ultimate Fighter” Season
8 winner faces a former champion in Jackson at UFC 144 on Feb.
26 in Japan. Should Bader falter there, as some suspect he might,
a matchup with Davis would make perfect sense.
Weidman
is now 8-0.
Chris Weidman vs. Rousimar Palhares: Weidman effectively shed
what was left of his prospect label, as the unbeaten Serra-Longo
Fight Team representative won a unanimous decision from 2007
Abu Dhabi Combat Club Submission Wrestling World Championships
winner Demian Maia on just 11 days’ notice. A grueling weight
cut sapped Weidman of his endurance late in the fight but made
his victory no less significant. He has put himself in position
to climb the middleweight ladder in the UFC and, perhaps by the
end of 2012, move towards title contention. In the meantime,
potential potholes abound. Palhares may be the most feared submission
fighter in the UFC, and he, too, wants a piece of the 185-pound
pie, as evidenced by his three-fight winning streak. Let the
leg lock master have a go with Weidman and let the chips fall
where they may.
Michael
Bisping vs. Demian Maia: Love him or hate him, Bisping did virtually
everything right against Sonnen, only to come up short on the
scorecards.
In
defeat, however, “The Ultimate Fighter” Season 3 winner
likely quieted some of his detractors by more than holding his
own with an opponent most view as the No. 2 middleweight in the
world. Bisping fought back to his feet when taken down, delivered
the more consequential strikes and even kept Sonnen, a world-class
wrestler, pinned to the cage at various moments in their 15-minute
battle. Bisping was originally booked to face Maia before an
injury to Mark Munoz forced matchmakers to shuffle the deck.
With both world-ranked middleweight now on the rebound, a bout
between them seems even more appropriate.
Evan
Dunham vs. Edson Barboza: The buzz over Barboza’s scintillating
wheel kick knockout on Terry Etim at UFC 142 has not died down.
With that said, talk of pairing the Brazilian with someone much
higher on the food chain -- there were calls for him to tackle
Jim Miller at one point -- appears to have been premature. Having
just turned 26 and with only 10 professional MMA fights under
his belt, Barboza deserves time to cultivate and sharpen his
potent skills, especially in a division as cutthroat as the one
in which he competes. Dunham overcame a slow start to stop the
gritty Nik Lentz on a second-round technical knockout, winning
for the sixth time in eight trips inside the Octagon. He has
the experience and the skill set needed to provide Barboza with
a worthwhile test.
Source: Sherdog
|
By
the Numbers: UFC on Fox 2
The
UFC’s first Fox appearance was short-lived, as Junior dos
Santos stopped Cain Velasquez in a mere 64 seconds. UFC on Fox
2 provided viewers with considerably more fight time, as all
three main card bouts inside the United Center in Chicago went
the distance. It wasn’t all about quantity, however, as
two of those bouts revealed No. 1 contenders in the light heavyweight
and middleweight divisions.
Rashad
Evans finally has his long-awaited showdown with Jon Jones, but
he needed to put in a full night’s work to get there. The
former light heavyweight champion outclassed top prospect Phil
Davis over the course of five rounds, getting the best of the
Alliance MMA product both on the feet and on the mat.
Chael
Sonnen earned himself another crack at the middleweight strap
by taking a hard fought decision over Michael Bisping. Sonnen
struggled to keep “The Count” down in the bout’s
first two rounds, but managed to hold his own in the standup.
He was able to control Bisping with his wrestling in round three
to seal the decision. Here is a by-the-numbers look at the UFC
on Fox 2 card, with statistics provided by FightMetric.com:
55:
Minutes of total fight time broadcast during the UFC on Fox 2
main card, a total that exceeded the UFC on Fox 1 total by 53:56.
50:
Total ground strikes by which Evans outlanded Davis over five
rounds. Davis, a four-time All-American wrestler at Penn State
University, twice had to escape from the mounted crucifix position
against the former light heavyweight champion.
3:
Successful takedowns for Evans. In his previous five Octagon
appearances, Davis had never been taken down. Antonio Rogerio
Nogueira, Tim Boetsch and Brian Stann didn’t even attempt
a takedown in their encounters with “Mr. Wonderful,”
while Rodney Wallace and Alexander Gustafsson went a combined
0 for 7.
48:
Career takedowns for Evans, tying him with former Jackson’s
Mixed Martial Arts stablemate Clay Guida for No. 6 all time in
UFC history.
.220:
Takedown success rate for Davis, who was just 2-for-9 in his
attempts to get Evans to the mat.
31:
Total number of strikes to the body and legs by which Davis outlanded
Evans. “Suga” landed 98 strikes to the head compared
to Davis’ 22, however.
33: Total strikes by which Sonnen outlanded Bisping in their
middleweight No. 1 contender bout. The Team Quest representative
connected on more total strikes than Bisping in every round.
He also successfully landed more significant strikes than “The
Count” in rounds one (24 to 13) and three (5 to 2).
1,269:
Total strikes landed by Sonnen in his Octagon tenure. That number
is No. 9 all time in the UFC, and leaves him just five strikes
behind Sean Sherk for No. 8.
0:
Number of times that an opponent has landed more strikes than
Sonnen in his UFC and WEC career. Even in his five submission
defeats, Sonnen has outlanded opponents a combined 152 to 54.
4:
Takedowns by Sonnen, the most Bisping has allowed since Evans
took him down on six occasions at UFC 78.
1.01:
Strikes absorbed per minute in the UFC career of Sonnen, the
third lowest figure in the promotion, behind Pete Spratt (1.04)
and Davis (1.01).
58:
Significant strikes landed by Chris Weidman against Demian Maia,
three more than the Serra-Longo product landed in his first three
UFC appearances combined.
6:
Consecutive bouts involving Maia that have gone the distance.
The Brazilian’s first-round knockout loss to Nate Marquardt
at UFC 102 was the last time one of his fights didn’t go
to the judges’ scorecards.
.800:
Significant striking accuracy for Evan Dunham in the second round
of his technical knockout win over Nik Lentz. Dunham landed 29
more power strikes than his opponent over the course of their
lightweight bout.
50:
Significant strikes by which Mike Russow’s opponents have
outlanded him during his four-fight unbeaten streak in the UFC.
John Olav-Einemo outlanded the Chicagoan 31 to 21 on Saturday
night. Russow has a 17-0 edge in total takedowns over those same
four bouts.
1:
Fights decided by calf slicer in UFC history, after Charles “do
Bronx” Oliveira utilized the hold to tap Eric Wisely in
the Brazilian’s featherweight debut.
4:26:
Average fight time for Oliveira in six Octagon appearances, the
seventh fastest average time in UFC history for competitors with
a minimum of five fights.
11:
Takedowns defended by Michael Johnson in his unanimous decision
triumph over Shane Roller. Roller, an three-time All-American
wrestler from Oklahoma State University, converted his lone successful
attempt in the third frame.
6:
Difference in significant strikes landed by Johnson in the first
round (35) and the second and third frames combined (29).
17:
Difference in weight for Joey Beltran (228 pounds) in his first-round
knockout loss to Lavar Johnson on Saturday and his (245) unanimous
decision setback to Stipe Miocic at UFC 136.
19:
Professional bouts in which Beltran avoided defeat by knockout
or technical knockout before falling to Johnson in his 20th outing.
In fact, “The Mexicutioner” had only been stopped once
previously, submitting to a kimura from Tony Lopez in 2008.
Source: Sherdog |
Paulo
Thiago wants three fights in 2012
Paulo
Thiago was one of the stars at UFC Rio, but an injury forced
him to stay out of the Brazilian party. Healed, the fighter will
return to the cage on April 14, when he confronts the tough Afghan
Siyar Baharduzada, in Sweden. It’ll be the Paulo’s
first step towards his three fights in 2012.
“I
want a winning sequence this year, to do three fights in 2012,
to begin 2013 with a title in mind. I gotta win now to start
a sequence”, said the athlete, on an exclusive interview
with TATAME.
“I’ll
do my very best to do the fight of the night and get the win,
I’ll prepare myself like I’ve never done before”,
guarantees.
Paulo
knows he needs to be at his best to defeat Baharduzada, a fighter
who’s coming from a 6-win streak in events in Hollander
and Brazil, being five of them by knockout.
“Baharduzada
is debuting in the UFC, but he’s pretty tough, has heavy
hands and many belts... He’s on a great streak, but we’re
training for the win”, analyzes the Brazilian.
“He
has heavy hands and likes to stand-up. When people play his game
he does well at striking. I’ve seen him doing some positions
on the ground, working the ground and pound game and submissions,
and you can tell he can fight you anywhere. I’ll be prepared
for anything”.
Source: Tatame
|
Cordeiro
analyzes Werdum VS. Nelson
The
coach Rafael Cordeiro is confident of Fabricio Werdum’s
win over the tough Roy Nelson, on a bout scheduled for February
4. While talking to TATAME’s crew, Rafa analyzed their styles,
affirming that the Brazilian will bet on his Jiu-Jitsu skills.
“Werdum
will explore his strongest weapon, which is Jiu-Jitsu. People
will realize how badly he wants to be in the UFC”, warns
Cordeiro, who has the backup of Renato Babalu, Marcos Buchecha
and Lucas Leite at Kings MMA, gym he leads in California.
“He’s
a tough opponent, he has a whole history in there. He has fought
many tough guys… The expectations are the best possible.
Werdum is coming from tough fights, he’s used to it, so
he’s training a lot in respect to Roy… He’s ready
for a big fight”.
Cordeiro
opens partnership with Black House
Besides
training Werdum, Rafael has to worry about his students at Black
House, gym he started teaching classes in Los Angeles. “I’ve
started teaching pros three times a week. I got a good partnership
with Joinha and Ed. It’s been a great experience, I’m
sending my good vibes to the guys there”, tells.
Among
the students, the coach tells he has started working with Rafael
dos Anjos, novice of Roberto Gordo and a UFC lightweight fighter,
who’s staying in the United States for a training season.
“There’re many Americans here, besides Rafael dos Anjos…
There’s a big and good team there. The guys Ed manages are
here, and we’re here to support them”.
Source: Tatame
|
UFC
on FOX 2 proves good for business
UFC’s
second show on FOX delivered in the two ways that counted the
most, but when it came to the action, it didn’t come close
to most of the company’s recent shows.
From
a business perspective, the two keys were drawing a good rating
and building the strongest matches possible for future business.
Both goals were accomplished.
Chael
Sonnen (28-11-1) beat Michael Bisping (23-4) in a unanimous decision
that could have gone either way. After two close rounds, when
Bisping did better on the stand-up, Sonnen dominated the third,
controlling almost the entire round on the ground.
Sonnen
recorded two takedowns in the first, but he didn’t keep
Bisping down for long either time. In the second round, Sonnen
recorded a takedown, kept Bisping down a little longer and did
a little more damage, but Bisping landed a lot late in the round
after getting up.
Sonnen’s
performance wouldn’t make you think that he could beat middleweight
champion Anderson Silva. But one would have said the same thing
about Sonnen’s victory over Nate Marquardt in 2010, and
in his next fight with Silva, he dominated him for four-and-a-half
rounds before being caught with a triangle in one of the most
dramatic fights in UFC history.
Rashad
Evans didn’t need luck from the judges in winning all five
rounds against Phil Davis. Evans was too quick standing, and
he even got the better of a former NCAA champion at the wrestling
game.
Evans
never landed the big shot standing on Davis. He did have Davis
in some trouble on the ground, getting a crucifix position and
throwing punches in the first and fifth rounds. But the fight
came across as lackluster.
When
it was over, UFC president Dana White set the stage for the two
highly anticipated future bouts. Silva will defend against Sonnen
in June, in Brazil, potentially at a soccer stadium in Sao Paulo.
The UFC has been negotiating for a June 16 date at Estadio do
Morumbi, which holds 67,428 fans for soccer, and could set the
company’s all-time attendance record.
It
was also announced that Jon Jones would defend his title against
Evans on April 21 at Philips Arena in Atlanta, provided neither
gets injured.
That’s
a big “if” since injuries to Evans, former champion
Mauricio “Shogun” Rua and Jones have kept Evans from
getting a title shot since becoming the top contender 20 months
ago. Evans gave no indication of any injuries after the fight.
In having the matchup in Atlanta, Evans would return to the arena
where he first established himself as a legitimate superstar
in the sport with a devastating knockout of Chuck Liddell on
Sept. 6, 2008.
Silva
vs. Sonnen and Jones vs. Evans would likely be much bigger draws
than Silva vs. Bisping and Jones vs. Davis.
Perhaps
even more important, in the long run, is the show established
that UFC on primetime network television isn’t a novelty
act. It also proved that UFC doesn’t have to give away a
heavyweight title match – a major pay-per-view main event
– or get the ridiculous amount of promotion the first show
received to be able to draw highly-competitive ratings.
Full
ratings for the show will not be available until Monday afternoon,
but the overnight ratings showed that FOX did 4.37 million viewers
between 8 p.m. and 10 p.m. on Saturday.
What
that number means is very confusing, but what is for certain
is that it more than doubled anything on network television in
the key 18-49 age group on what was admittedly a weak night.
The
first rating measures the audience watching the UFC fights in
three of the four time zones and measures what aired in primetime,
from 8-10 p.m., on the West Coast. The UFC is still stronger
on the West Coast than anywhere else. In addition, because the
last two rounds of Evans vs. Davis took place after 10 p.m.,
how they did is not figured into the original rating. The last
18 minutes would, in theory, have a double-dip advantage, where
non-fight fans would have tuned in to see the local FOX news.
In
short, the final number will be significantly higher. Based on
the overnights, the audience was about four percent lower than
the first number for the initial UFC show on FOX on Nov. 12.
The final rating of that show, when the West Coast was figured
in, was 24 percent higher than the first national number. If
anything, this should be even bigger because you’re also
adding whatever growth took place in the final 18 minutes of
the show.
It’s
a win for the UFC’s business plan, which is to use FOX specials
for top contender and showcase matches. The idea is to put upcoming
stars on before the largest number of viewers, and, like Saturday,
matches that create pay-per-view main events down the line, since
the successful pay-per-view fights carry the promotion.
But
by no means was the show all roses. The Demian Maia vs. Chris
Weidman fight that started the show saw two exhausted grapplers
trying to kickbox. Weidman at least had an excuse. Being asked
to fight only 11 days before, he had to drop from 217 pounds
to weigh in at 185. That combination can leave you far from your
best. Maia, who was contacted about the fight in early December,
has less of an excuse. But neither came across like a future
star, even though Weidman, under better circumstances, does have
the skills to be one.
Sonnen
vs. Bisping matched two compelling personalities. The fight went
the distance, and the outcome was in question from start to finish.
It was not a classic fight, but it was good enough. Plus, Bisping
won a lot of respect in losing and elevated his standing.
Even
though Evans showcased a lot of ability – and made Davis
look overmatched – the fight itself wasn’t exciting,
and it went five rounds.
Still,
the audience grew consistently, at least based on the available
data that ended at 10 p.m. There were 3.68 million people based
on what could be measured watching Maia vs. Weidman and 4.91
million watching the build up and first three rounds of Evans
vs. Davis.
So,
while the show garnered a lot of criticism going in about how
people who saw it would be bored and would have turned it off
during the first fight or during the show with the lack of big
finishes, the opposite happened.
But
there are areas that need work. One of the big problems with
MMA is that it resides in a unique world. White often points
out that its audience knows triangle chokes and uma platas, but
to the world at large that is a foreign language. It’s fine
for its regular shows, but on FOX the goal is you have millions
of viewers – many watching for the first time or who rarely
watch. The entire idea of how to present the show has to be different.
There were times when everyone involved – from the fighters
to the announcers – seemed like they were talking to people
who only reside in that world. This is a unique show where the
aim needs to be different.
A
specific example is Jones vs. Evans. There is a great back story
of the former friends and training partners. Jones stepped in
for Evans when he was hurt, with his blessing, took his title
shot and won it. Since then, circumstances not only caused a
falling out between the two, but also led to Evans starting his
own training camp. UFC was smart to have Jones in the booth,
although he did appear nervous as a first-timer compared to sidekick
Randy Couture. Jones did tell the story in a manner those who
already knew understood, but to first-time viewers they likely
wouldn’t have fully gotten the gist of it.
Evans,
who is more media savvy than most UFC fighters, didn’t have
a great interview after winning, missing a huge opportunity to
gain more fans and sell his next fight.
MMA
is as unpredictable as live prime-time programming can be. At
most sporting events, you have a pretty decent gauge on how long
they will last. In this case, they went from one extreme –
a one-minute fight within a one-hour show – to three fights
that all went the distance.
Most
UFC shows are good, and of late, the percentage has been higher
than usual. However, neither FOX show came close to the usual
level. The ceiling probably rose a little here, just not as much
as it could have.
Source: Yahoo Sports
|
Sonnen
earns his rematch against Silva, grinds out win over Bisping
at UFC on Fox 2
Sonnen
doing damage on the groundCHICAGO -- It was a rough 15 minutes,
but Chael Sonnen did enough to get the fight he's coveted for
17 months.
The
middleweight title contender locked up a shot against the UFC's
185-pound champ Anderson Silva with a surprisingly tough win
over Michael Bisping.
In
a fight, that appeared to be a toss-up for some, Sonnen took
a unanimous decision, 30-27, 29-28 and 29-28, in the co-main
event of the UFC on Fox 2 card at the United Center.
Sonnen's
win sets up an intriguing scenario.
UFC
president Dana White guaranteed the winner of tonight's tilt
the next shot at Silva. The champ has been sidelined since August
with shoulder and back issues and the promotion is pointing towards
a summer return. But Silva recently hinted that he may be out
beyond the summer.
Sonnen
(27-11-1, 6-4 UFC) believes Silva is ducking him and has done
everything he can to call out the champ. Tonight, he made the
wise decision of not poking Silva. Instead, he delivered a hilarious
postfight speech talking about his own greatness.
"As
I've told everyone before, when you're the best fighter in the
world, they don't call you champion, they call you Chael Sonnen,"
said Sonnen.
Sonnen
was good, not great tonight, but much of that had to do with
the opponent. Bisping (22-4, 10-0 UFC) rubs plenty of fans and
media members the wrong way and, as a result, he's a bit underrated.
The common thought was that the Brit would get eaten alive by
Sonnen's Olympic-level wrestling, but that didn't happen in the
first two rounds.
Sonnen
scored two takedowns in the first, but Bisping got to his feet
in less than 25 seconds on both occasions. He also stuffed two
more takedown attempts. In the second, Sonnen scored a takedown
with 2:58 left. Bisping was up a minute later and took minimal
damage. The Brit was effective in the striking game, landing
a few good combinations, but nothing appeared to rock the hard-charging
American. Sonnen admitted during the postfight press conference
that he was shaky on one occasion after a big shot from Bisping.
UFC
color voice Joe Rogan was convinced Bisping had won the first
two rounds. That wasn't the case on the judges' scorecard, but
two of them did have things 19-19. Sonnen did what he needed
to in the final round. He scored a big takedown and really dominated
the position for over three minutes.
Sonnen
scored that takedown just 12 seconds into the round. Bisping
defended well for the next minute but got a little impatient
as he was just about to rise to his feet. Bisping gave up his
back standing and Sonnen squashed him. Then he did a brilliant
job of getting both hooks in and rolling to dominant position
on the ground. He worked to lock on a rear-naked, but it didn't
happen. Bisping was protecting from the choke, lost his focus
and allowed Sonnen to roll the position into the mount with 2:31
left. With 1:31 left, Bisping hip escaped to full guard. Bisping
eventually got to his feet with less than 20 seconds left and
scored a takedown of his own. He even landed a few big elbows,
but it was too little, too late.
Bisping
thought he won the first, but didn't flip out.
"That
was a great fight. My hat goes off to Chael, he won the fight
tonight. But, I really felt that I did enough in rounds one and
two to secure the victory. He won the third, but I really felt
that I was up on the judges' scorecards. They saw it differently
and it is what it is," said Bisping.
Now
the question is when will the fight everyone wants - Sonnen vs.
Silva II - actually go down? Sonnen turned up the heat in recent
weeks, plainly stating that he'll never get to face Silva because
the champ won't accept the fight.
"I'm
not going to fight Anderson either way. They can say whatever
they want. Anderson is never going to do that fight," Sonnen
told "The MMA Insiders" show on Las Vegas' ESPN1100/98.9
FM. "I hope he's healthy and has a good life, but I'm not
buying into this mythical world that Anderson is going to some
day sign a contract to fight me."
Silva
beat Sonnen at UFC 117 via fifth-round submission, but that was
after getting dominated for 23 minutes. He's had to hear about
it ever since. This is a chance to shut Sonnen's mouth and likely
do it in front of a record-sized crowd in Brazil. Why would he
pass on the opportunity?
Source: Yahoo Sports
|
Rolles
about fighting Sapp: ‘He’s a monster’
Ten
years after losing to Rodrigo Nogueira in Pride, Bob Sapp will
have another Brazilian in his way. Among the main events of One
FC, event that happens in Jordan on February 11, the giant of
341lbs will confront the Brazilian Rolles Gracie, who weights
“just” 242lbs.
“He’s
a monster, it’s even hard for me to find training partners
his size… The biggest guys I know are my size, so it’s
hard to find someone as big as him… I’ll train against
two guys at the same time, maybe that’s the solution (laughs)”,
jokes Rolles, on an exclusive interview with TATAME. “I’ll
prepare myself to feel a strength I’ve hardly experienced
before, but I’m confident. I believe my Jiu-Jitsu techniques
will stand out to his brute power”.
Rolles
will try his third win after leaving UFC, while the American
guy wants to scare the rough path off, since it’s been lasts
four years now (seven losses in nine MMA fights and seven consecutive
losses at Kickboxing).
“Despite
he’s not fighting guys that tough on the last years, he’s
a dangerous guy. You can kid about him”, affirmed Gracie,
seeing it for other angles. “Independently if he’s
or he’s not on his best phase (six losses on the seven last
fights), he still is an opponent that would be good to defeat.
I’m fighting in a different division from the one I’m
used to against a known guy”.
Outside
the fight, Rolles tells that his main goal is to conquest a belt
at a big event. “I’m still rising, I didn’t reach
the top. Each win, each loss, each train is part of my journey
to the top. I want the belt of a big organization, like UFC,
One FC, anyone”, warns.
Source: Tatame
|
Underappreciated
Evans earns his shot
CHICAGO
– For the last six-plus years, Rashad Evans has basically
done nothing other than win against the best fighters the UFC
has to offer.
The
next challenge, though, will be the biggest mountain to climb.
Evans
earned a shot at the light heavyweight title against his one-time
close friend, training partner and protègè, Jon
Jones, by easily dispatching of Phil Davis on Saturday in the
main event of UFC on Fox 2 at a sold-out United Center.
Evans
swept all five rounds on all three judges’ cards in a typically
brilliant performance, a five-star effort that has become so
common that he doesn’t get enough credit for what he does.
Since
losing his belt to Lyoto Machida on May 23, 2009, Evans has reeled
off four consecutive wins, beating Thiago Silva, who was 14-1
at the time, ex-champions Quinton “Rampage” Jackson
and Tito Ortiz and then Davis, who entered the bout 9-0. Evans
is now 17-1-1 in his pro career and 12-1-1 in the UFC. If he’s
not one of the 10 best fighters in the world, there’s probably
no point in ranking the fighters any more.
Despite
all his accomplishments, however, Evans admitted that he awakened
on Saturday with a queasy feeling in the pit of his stomach.
“Yeah,
I felt the pressure and this morning, it kind of crept up on
me,” Evans said. “I woke up this morning and I was
like, ‘Man, I can’t lose this fight.’ You never
want to lose a fight, but at the same time, it played on my mind
a little more than it normally does. I really had to sit down
and have a talk with myself and get my mind wrapped around it.
“I
talked to my performance coach, Al Fuentes, and we talked about
it, talked it through, and really got my mind on the right path
again. It’s so easy to make it so much bigger than it really
is.”
It
won’t get much bigger than the next one. It pits a pair
of bitter rivals against each other with much riding on the outcome.
It
will also put friends on opposite sides. Jones still trains at
Jackson’s MMA in Albuquerque, N.M., where Evans first made
his name and became a star. Evans has many friends at Jackson’s,
including former UFC light heavyweight Keith Jardine, who routinely
refers to Evans as a brother. If Jardine stays at Jackson’s,
he’ll wind up helping Jones, his teammate, to prepare to
fight his best friend.
It’s
going to be awkward on all sides.
“Yeah,
it’s tough and I hate to even put those guys in that position,”
said Evans, who left Jackson’s last year after Jones replaced
him in a title fight against Mauricio “Shogun” Rua
and won the belt. “There’s been kind of a rift. They’ve
let me know, you know what, ‘I kind of feel a little problem.
I have loyalties to you, but at the same time, I’m on the
team with Jon.’ It sucks it even has to be that way, but
the stage was set for it to happen. I feel bad for everybody
else who gets caught in the collateral damage.”
It
was Davis who was caught on Saturday and taking the damage. Evans
caught a kick in the first round and trapped Davis in a crucifix,
battering him for the final part of the opening round.
Evans’
hands were much faster and he had a more varied attack. He praised
Davis, but in truth, Evans was never really threatened.
“Normally,
my strategy is to strike first and use that to control the tempo
of the match,” Davis said. “He was able to really use
his hand speed to be more offensive than I was.”
Evans
won’t get the benefit of Jones not being offensive. He is
6-foot-4 – five inches taller than the 5-11 Evans –
and has an 84-inch reach, the largest in the UFC. He has become
a fabulous offensive fighter with a wide variety of tools. Jones
is a master wrestler and his elbows are as dangerous as any in
MMA.
But
Evans and Jones went at it many times in practice and Evans knows
his game as well as anyone. That, Evans suggested, could be an
advantage for him when they meet at UFC 145 in Atlanta on April
21.
“I
feel like I can beat Jon Jones,” Evans said. “I see
areas in his game I can capitalize on. I know it’s going
to be a good fight. We’re very familiar with each other.
Jon Jones has one thing over other opponents that he doesn’t
have over me: We’ve faced each other many times, and I’m
not too worried about the mystique of Jon Jones. I know Jon Jones
at his core. I remember Jon Jones when he was like, ‘Hey
man, what is it like when everybody takes pictures with you?’
I see Jon Jones a little bit differently than everybody else
sees Jon Jones.”
It
figures to be one of the biggest pay-per-view shows the UFC has
ever done. Jones will be a heavy favorite, and deservedly so.
He
has grown dramatically just in the 10 months since he and Evans
split. Jones is in the midst of a special run, having beaten
Ryan Bader, Rua, Jackson and Machida in a stellar 2011 and doing
so in impressive fashion.
Evans,
though, is convinced Jones hasn’t improved enough to defeat
the one man he most wants to beat.
“In
some respects, that’s true [to say Jones has improved so
much, the past doesn’t matter], but at the same time, there
are fundamental things that stay the same,” Evans said.
“There are things I feel have stayed the same about Jon.
When I get in there and I face him, I’m sure I’ll be
able to feel the familiarity and all those things that can’t
change about a person.”
Source: Yahoo Sports
|
UFC
On Fox 2 Results: Sonnen Edges Bisping for Shot at Anderson Silva
The
UFC’s most charismatic middleweight, Chael Sonnen, will
now get his wish to rematch Anderson Silva after edging out a
close decision victory over TUF 3 light heavyweight winner Michael
“The Count” Bisping at UFC on Fox 2 in Chicago on Saturday
night.
It
wasn’t as easy as expected for Sonnen, as the first two
rounds were incredibly close. Bisping was able to scramble and
get the slight better of Sonnen standing. The few clean takedowns
Sonnen secured made it difficult to score.
In
round three, the fight clearly shifted towards Sonnen, as the
Team Quest standout was able to successfully take Bisping down
and control him on the ground. Sonnen would eventually take the
back of Bisping and transition into full mount. Bisping was not
deterred despite the heavy grappling onslaught of the former
Olympic alternate in wrestling and even took him down late in
the round.
After
the bout all three judges awarded the contest to the No. 1 contender
Sonnen (30-27, 29-28, 29-28) in a close affair. In the post-fight
interview with Joe Rogan, Sonnen left the Chicago fans in style
and told them how he’s the greatest fighter in the world
today.
“When
you’re the greatest fighter in the world today, they’ve
got a name for you,” Sonnen said post-fight. “They
don’t call you a great fighter, they call you Chael Sonnen.”
Now
with the close decision victory over Bisping, Sonnen moves his
record to 27-11-1. Sonnen’s win over the TUF 3 winner, has
secured him the all-important rematch against the pound-for-pound
king Anderson Silva in Silva’s backyard of Brazil.
Source: MMA Weekly |
UFC
on FOX 2 Results: Rashad Evans Decisions Phil Davis in Chicago
Rashad
Evans is on his way to fighting for the light heavyweight title.
At
UFC on FOX 2, Evans shutout Phil Davis with a unanimous decision
win in the evening’s main event at Chicago’s United
Center.
Davis
displayed some improved striking, throwing combinations not seen
in previous fights of his. He established a standing offense
and traded strikes with Evans. The first round’s momentum
changed when Evans caught a Davis kick then tripped him down
to the ground. Evans put him in a crucifix and worked in some
punches before the end of the round.
Davis
slowed down in the second round, while at the same time, Evans
began to land punches with more accuracy. Evans caught another
Davis kick and followed through with a takedown to finish out
the second round on the ground.
Davis
had his opponent down early in the third round, but Evans was
able to reverse and gain top position. On the feet, Evans did
well to score points from the clinch with uppercuts and short
punches. Davis scored a takedown, but Evans was able to work
his way back to the feet where they would close out the round
in a clinch.
Evans’
speed advantage over Davis became more evident in the fourth
round. He was able to land strikes a lot quicker and more accurately,
while Davis’ punches came slow and with little power. The
same theme carried into the final round.
The
fifth frame had Evans getting a hold of Davis’ leg and throwing
strikes, rocking him as he fell to his back. Overwhelming Davis,
Evans controlled the fight to the very end. Just before the final
horn, Evans pushed forward and capped the fight off with punches
in bunches.
Judges
saw Evans winning the fight with scores of 50-45 across the board.
The
win wasn’t the kind Evans was looking for. In his post-fight
interview with Joe Rogan, the victor admitted he wanted to finish
Davis, but didn’t find the opening he was seeking.
“I
felt like I wanted to put him away and I just didn’t get
a chance to land those big punches,” Evans said. “I’m
kind of disappointed about it, but when you fight a guy as tough
as Phil Davis sometimes things like that happen.”
The
win puts Evans in line for a shot at regaining the light heavyweight
title held by his former teammate, Jon Jones. When asked about
it, Evans said, “this is the monkey on my back that I had
to get over. It was hard to really focus on this fight because
everyone kept talking about that fight.
“Now
that I won, I get an opportunity to fight Jon and I’m very
excited about it.”
With
the win, Evans improves his record to 22-1-1, but it is unknown
if injuries sustained on Saturday night will allow him to fight
Jones at UFC 145 in Atlanta. In defeat, Davis drops to 9-1.
Source: MMA Weekly |
What’s
different about how Rousimar “Toquinho” Palhares handles
feet in Jiu-Jitsu?
The
only thing harder to do than figure out what’s going on
in Rousimar “Toquinho” Palhares Rousimar Palhares,
o Toquinho’s head is escaping one of his submission holds.
What’s
so special about the way the BTT star does leglocks? Why is he
so devastating in the UFC middleweight division?
The
theories answering that are far-reaching and varied, and they’re
pretty much all valid.
1.
REPETITIONS
Ever
since he first started training Jiu-Jitsu in Minas Gerais, under
Iran Brasileiro, the rookie Toquinho had faith in the position
, and he does repetitions of them to exhaustion to this day,
now in the UFC. The fact that heelhooks are very conducive to
injury means most folks forgo using them too often in training.
Toquinho didn’t want to hear it, though, and he set about
polishing up the technique, even if his matmates had to suffer
some as a result…
2.
MORE THAN MERELY THE RIGHT SQUEEZE, ROUSIMAR’S GOT POWER
Even
in training, the desire and pressure with which Toquinho applies
holds rarely allow his prey to escape. They either tap or lose
a limb. “Even when he does it real slow, during training,
it comes on really strong. If just because of his natural explosiveness,”
remarks Miltinho Vieira, a training partner of Toquinho’s
who recently got the call-up for the UFC featherweight division,
now dominated by José Aldo. “The one who polished
up Toquinho’s footlocks with him was the late Eraldo Paes,
who was a specialist on the holds; he came from a luta livre
background and was always using foot attacks,” Vieira adds.
The man who beat Palhares in the final at ADCC 2011, in Nottingham,
England, André Galvão concurs: “That creature
is real strong; that’s the thing that sets him apart the
most, as I see it.”
3.
ANATOMICALLY PERFECT JIU-JITSU MACHINE
At
ADCC 2011 everyone was noticing: “Look at Toquinho’s
torso; it’s shaped like a T! How would anyone be able to
get their foot out once he fits it under his arm?” Indeed,
the former cowboy’s powerful arms and even more powerful
legs are a major boon in trapping an enemy leg. Fit in just right,
his skill with the torque technique does the rest.
4.
TRAP THE LEG, NOT THE FOOT!
As
we mentioned above, most fighters are overly concerned about
their foot being caught and don’t pay enough heed to the
hold on their leg. “In MMA, as you get all sweaty, the hold
ends up getting loose. Toquinho does a good job of adjusting
the leg positions, and he sinks it in such a way that keeps the
guy from spinning away,” says observant black belt Francisco
“Sá”, a frontrunner in the Jiu-Jitsu scene in
the Brazilian state of Ceará, in a conversation with our
Junior Samurai.
5.
DESPERATE OPPONENTS
Source: Gracie Magazine
|
Viewpoint:
Setting the Stage
Actually
Chael, we were not all that mesmerized.
No
amount of pre-packaged professional wrestling microphone work
can change the fact that the UFC on Fox 2 main card on Saturday
did not provide the type of transcendent moments likely to convert
a skeptical observer into a lifelong fan. A quick perusal of
the Internet on Sunday morning revealed as much, with critiques
targeting everything from the broadcast team to the action in
the cage.
That
said, do not blame Chael Sonnen. The 34-year-old Oregonian did
what he usually does in taking a unanimous decision against Michael
Bisping. He found a way to win. Anyone who has been following
the sport for any period of time knows that the majority of Sonnen’s
recent wins -- Nate Marquardt, Yushin Okami, Dan Miller and Paulo
Filho, for example -- are decided by the cageside judges.
Unfortunately,
many of the viewers who tune in to a national television broadcast
do not consider this type of information to be common knowledge.
Of course, these are probably the same people who cried foul
when Junior dos Santos knocked out Cain Velasquez in 64 seconds
in November. The UFC’s debut on Fox demonstrated that, given
the unpredictable nature of mixed martial arts, even a great
champion can get caught with a punch. The UFC on Fox 2 displayed
a different side of the sport: that many of the athletes who
step into the Octagon are quite difficult to finish.
Still,
it is safe to say more than a few of the fighters felt like Rashad
Evans, who outclassed Phil Davis over the course of five lopsided
rounds in the main event.
“I’m
happy I got the win, but I wanted to do better. I wanted to put
on a more spectacular win for the Chicago fans and the Fox fans,”
he said during the post-fight press conference. “I didn’t
do it like I wanted or I envisioned myself doing it, but, at
the same time, I got the job done. I can’t be too overly
critical because, [with] nights like this, winning on this stage
in the UFC, wins are hard to come by, so I should really just
be thankful.”
Whether
it is 64 seconds or 55 minutes, some people are bound to be unhappy.
Evans is right about being thankful, however, because while the
fights themselves might not have been all that enthralling, the
end result should make for a pleasing year for both the UFC and
fight fans alike.
Evans’ win sets up the long-awaited grudge match with light
heavyweight champion Jon Jones. The former training partners
waged a bitter verbal war last year that figures to heat up again
as their proposed bout on April 21 draws near. On Saturday, Evans
sounded subdued at the prospect of settling the score with the
man he once referred to as “Judas.”
“I
definitely want to put the rivalry to bed and, more importantly,
get a chance to get my belt back,” he said, before later
adding “I’ll get my mouth going probably a little later
on.”
Theirs
is the type of blockbuster bout that -- with the proper promotional
push -- can crack the UFC’s all-time Top 10 in terms of
pay-per-view buys.
Sonnen
predictably had his mouth already going on Saturday, standing
by his conspiracy theory that middleweight champion Anderson
Silva would rather hide in Brazil than face him.
“I
know I’ll do my part in that. Do I think he’ll sign
the fight? No, I don’t. We’ll see. I’ve been wrong
before. The one thing [the UFC] hasn’t revealed is they’ve
offered him the fight four times, and he’s said no four
times,” Sonnen said. “Mysteriously, he’s supposed
to accept on the fifth.”
It
is laughable to think that Silva -- who submitted Sonnen while
battling a rib injury at UFC 117 -- is ducking the Team Quest
product, but that does not matter. Sonnen lives to antagonize
“The Spider,” and their rematch is another budding
pay-per-view bonanza.
The
point: the UFC got what it really needed on Saturday in Chicago.
The format of the Fox broadcast and the matchmaking can be improved
over time. The pairing of Jim Miller and Nate Diaz for UFC on
Fox 3 suggests the latter is already being addressed. Is there
any argument that UFC on Fox 1 could have benefitted from televising
Clay Guida-Ben Henderson or that Frankie Edgar-Henderson would
have been a perfect fight for the United Center?
Those
well-versed in MMA already had an idea that the UFC on Fox 2
main-card matchups all stood a reasonable chance of going the
distance. None of the fighters -- Evans, Davis, Sonnen, Bisping,
Demian Maia or Chris Weidman -- have forged reputations as go-for-broke
finishers. The real intrigue was in the future title implications.
Two No. 1 contender’s fights for free ain’t all that
bad.
So,
no, nobody from the Fox broadcast captured a post-fight bonus.
None of the six fighters produced a where-were-you-when it-happened
moment. Still, it has to be regarded as a successful and productive
night. Evans and Sonnen, two of the most polarizing figures in
the sport today, earned significant fights in the months to come.
Fans have something to look forward to, and it all happened without
the benefit of a sports entertainment script.
Source: Sherdog
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